


Surviving a Nightmare

by Reading_at_Dawn



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Contain's OCs, Post-Undertale Neutral Route - Exiled Queen Ending, Undertale Neutral Ending, Undyne is Empress of the Underground, Will Change Tags Further On, obviously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2018-07-27 11:09:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 23,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7615738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reading_at_Dawn/pseuds/Reading_at_Dawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been almost three years since Frisk had come through the Underground and disappeared. Undyne has taken up the task of continuing what Asgore had started. Two siblings fall into the Underground, and must make their way through a now-militarized world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_Ring, ring..._

**_"heya. is anyone there...? well, i'll just leave a message."_ **

**_"so... it's been a while. the queen returned, and attempted to resume ruling the underground. she enstated a new policy... all humans who fall down here would be treated not as enemies, but as friends."_ **

**_"..."_ **

**_"but people REALLY didn't like that policy. because of you, not only was the king gone... but the human souls had gone missing as well. along with the lives of countless citizens. nobody wanted to see that happen ever again. so the people started a rebellion to overthrow the queen. undyne spearheaded the revolution, of course, she was pretty mad after what happened to asgore. she threw the queen out of the castle with her strength, then she became empress of the underground... and banished the queen back to the ruins. seems like undyne's... hmm... even more vehement about destroying humanity than ASGORE."_ **

**_"..."_ **

**_"but hey! it's not all bad! she's not so lonely anymore. me and papyrus go and visit her... we bring her books from the library and play games... we've even convinced her to leave sometimes, as long as me or papyrus stay behind to watch for humans. but papyrus loves doing that."_ **

_"YEAH! I LOVE STANDING IN FOR THE QUEEN! I'VE BEEN PRACTICING FOR WHEN A HUMAN COMES! I'M GOING TO BE A GREAT MOM! BY THE WAY, WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?"_

**_"oh, nobody."_ **

_"OH, COOL. TELL THEM I SAY HI!"_

**_"papyrus says hi. well, I hope things are better where you are. later."_ **

_Click..._

* * *

**Error loading{playerfile.e.x.e.}22181682311121710. attempting to reload.2681723/2621181710**

**Rebooting...**

**Name the fallen humans.**

_**Amiya Welker.** _

_**Emily Welker.** _

**Are these names correct?**

**-Yes -No**

***Yes**


	2. Chapter 1: Fallen Humans

**_Amiya Welker_ **

**Age: 16**

**LV: 1**

**EXP: None**

**S0ul C0l0r: 19121714**

**HP: 25/25**

**Items: Granola Bar (Heals 10 HP)- A bar made of granola that contains nuts.**

**Armor: Rainbow Bracelet (+0 DEF)- A poorly crafted handmade bracelet made with multicolored strings strung together.**

**Weapon: Fairy Wand (+0 ATK)- A purple toy wand with a clear plastic star on top that lights up when a button is pressed. The batteries are dead.**

**Other: Has long {detail ommitted} hair that is braided to her shoulders and {missing information} eyes. Wears a red hooded jacket, a white T-Shirt, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers.**

_**Emily** **Welker** _

**Age: 6**

**LV: 1**

**EXP: None**

**S0ul C0l0r: 261112238**

**HP: 15/15**

**Items: None**

**Armor: Fairy Wings (+2 DEF)- Pink and yellow costume wings covered in glitter; one wing is bent. The sparkles distract monsters, and they won't hit as hard.**

**Weapon: Snowymallow (+0 ATK)- A white teddy bear with black eyes, wearing a red bow tie.**

**Other: Has short {missing detail} hair and {data ommitted} eyes. Wears a pink and white stripped dress that reaches down to her knees, a purple jacket, white tights, and purple sneakers.**

* * *

"Amiya! Amiya, wake up!"

The older girl stirred, groaning softly as she woke up. "Emily? What's wrong?"

"We fell."

Those two words made Amiya jolt up, wincing at a slight pain in her back. Looking at Emily, she then raised her gaze and looked around. They were at the bottom of a large cavern, in a bed of yellow flowers. Emily was standing over Amiya, hugging her teddy bear tight.

"Are you okay?" Amiya asked, slowly standing up.

"Uh huh. Snowymallow is too. But I broke one of my wings..." Emily answered, looking up at her sister.

Amiya looked down at the costume wings, noticing one was badly bent. "It's alright, it's just bent. We can fix it later." After gazing up at the faraway hole they had fallen into she knelt down and picked Emily up, wincing in pain when she felt a twinge of protest from her back. "It's too high to climb out..."

"There's a door that way." Emily says, pointing. Amyia looked in the direction she pointed as she reached down, picking up a toy wand her sister had dropped. Half hidden in the darkness, she could see a hallway leading toward the door. "... Are we stuck here?"

"No, we're not." Amiya assured her. "Mom and dad will find us soon, I promise. I have an idea, why don't we sit here for a while and wait?"

"Okay..."

Amiya sat down, snuggling Emily into her lap as she gazed up back at the hole. After a time, Emily fell asleep in her lap.

Amiya wasn't sure how long she had sat in the bed of flowers when she heard the sound of footsteps coming closer, echoing down the hallway. She slowly stood, holding Emily closer with one arm as she stared at the door, gripping the toy tightly with her free hand. As she watched, a giant... Goat-like humanoid thing wearing a robe walked through the door, carrying a watering can. They stopped when they spotted Amiya, looking at the two in surprise.

"Oh dear..."

"What are you?" Amiya asked uneasily.

"I am a monster. My name is Toriel, I am the caretaker of the Ruins. How long have you been sitting here?" She asked.

"... I'm not sure." Amiya answered uneasily, still gripping the wand tight. There was such a thing as monsters?

Toriel gazed up at the hole the two had fallen down through, noticing that there was not much light coming through it. "It seems to be getting late on the surface..." She murmured, then looked back at the two humans. "My home lies at the end of the Ruins. Would you like to stay there for the night?"

Amiya looked up at the hole, thinking it over before sighing. It _was_ getting late, and their parents wouldn't be able to see the hole in the dark... Tucking the handle of the wand through a loop on her jeans, she used her now-free hand to gently shake Emily awake. "Emily?"

Emily stirred, tiredly blinking awake. "Mama come?"

"No, not yet. But we're going to go somewhere to spend the night, then we'll come back in the morning. That way they could see us." Amiya answered as Emily rubbed her eyes. She put the younger girl down, who steadied herself as she clung tightly to Snowymallow.

Spotting Toriel, Emily's eyes widened as she grabbed Amiya's hand. "What's that?"

"This is Toriel, she's... a friend." Amiya answered. "She's letting us stay at her house for the night."

"Follow me, I shall guide you through the Ruins." Toriel says to them, then reentered the doorway.

Holding onto Emily's hand to keep her close by, Amyia followed the monster through. They entered a dark room that had a green patch in the center of the room. Amiya glanced around as they followed Toriel to another door, but there was nothing notable about the room other than the faint sunlight beaming onto the patch of grass, and the top of the cavern being much closer than it had been in the other room.

After Toriel led them through the other doorway, Amiya looked around in amazement. The ceiling was still quite low, and lanterns hung from the rock above them, casting a gentle flickering glow as the fire flit about inside them. The group was walking to two white staircases, leading up toward a stone entrance that still looked majestic despite the fact it was crumbling a bit.

"Pretty!" Emily says excitedly.

Toriel glanced down at the six-year-old, smiling faintly as she led the two humans up the stairs. "Thank you, little one. Welcome to the Ruins."


	3. Chapter 2: Through the Ruins

Toriel left her watering can at the top of the staircases, then led the duo through the doorway. They entered a room that had a series of buttons on the floor, and a lever on the wall.

"The Ruins are full of puzzles. You must solve these to move from room to room." Toriel explained, stepping on certain buttons before pulling the lever. The door opened, and she turned to the humans. "Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

"Can I push the buttons too?" Emily asked excitedly as Toriel walked into the next room.

"Not yet." Amiya answered, looking over the room before leading Emily through the door. Toriel was waiting for them right inside.

"In order to proceed, two levers need to be flipped. I've labeled the ones needed to be flipped, if you would please."

Amiya looked at the wall ahead of them, spotting the lever immediately. A small, amused smile crossed her face when she saw the yellow arrows pointing to the lever. "Alright." She walked over with Emily in tow, pulling it down.

As the two headed toward the second lever, Emily tugged on Amiya's hand. "I wanna do it!"

Amiya let out a faint laugh as they walked up to the next lever. "Alright, alright." She let go of Emily's hand, picking her up. Emily reached out, tugging the lever down.

"I did it!" She says gleefully as a couple of spikes lowered from their path.

"Good job, young one." Toriel praised Emily, making the little girl beam happily.

Amiya smiled, putting Emily back down and grabbing her hand again before following Toriel into the next room. Spotting what seemed to be a dummy on the one side of the room, she glanced at Toriel.

"For as long as you remain here in the Underground, monsters may try to attack you. If that happens, you will enter a FIGHT. But do not worry! Start up a pleasant conversation, and I will come to resolve the fight."

"Start a conversation?" Amiya asked, uncertain.

"Yes. Please try talking with the dummy."

"... Alright. Come on, Emily, let's go say hi..."

When the duo was two feet away from the dummy, the world around the two faded into black and white, and four large buttons reading _FIGHT, ACT, ITEM,_ and _MERCY_ appeared in front of them. Above the buttons were two white boxes labeled HP with their names beside them, on reading 25/25 and the other reading 15/15. Amiya grabbed at her chest as she felt a slight tug, watching a pink heart float above her hand.

Emily looked wide-eyed at a white heart that appeared in front of her. "Pretty! What's that?" The little girl asked.

Amiya stepped back, pulling Emily with her. The two hearts followed, and she was only able to take two steps backward before hitting an invisible wall. "What's going on?"

"You do not know? You have entered a FIGHT. The hearts you see before you are your Souls, the very culminations of your beings." Toriel answered. "You can move your Soul with your mind, or by moving your hand. You also have HP, which goes down when your Soul is hit, and can be recovered by eating something."

"... Alright." Amiya replied after processing what she was told. She led Emily to the buttons, pressing the one that read _ACT._ After hitting an option that read _Talk_ , she looked over the dummy uncertainly. "Um... Hello?"

"Hi Mr. Dummy!" Emily says cheerfully, waving at it with the arm holding her teddy bear. "I'm Emily! And this is my older sister Amiya! And my teddy is Snowymallow!"

Amused, Amiya let out a soft chuckle before looking back at the dummy. "It is nice to meet you."

"Very good!" Toriel says as the FIGHT ended, the world returning to color as the human's Souls faded back into their chests. "You did very well." She adds, then heads into the next room.

Emily tugged on Amiya's arm as they walked after her. "When will we get there?"

"I don't know, Emmy. We can ask Toriel if we're close." Amiya answered, stepping through the door and looking at Toriel. The room they were now in seemed a bit like a hallway with a slight curve further in, hiding the rest of the room from view.

"There is another puzzle in this room... I am certain you can solve it." Toriel says to them, starting down the hall. As the three started around the curve, a small white frog monster hopped out of its hiding place. Amiya pulled Emily closer to her as the world once again faded to black and white, their Souls being tugged back out into the open.

"Frog!" Emily tells Amiya matter-of-factly, using her hand holding Snowymallow to point at the monster.

"That is a froggit." Toriel corrected gently, frowning slightly as Amiya hit the _ACT_ button. Seeing a 'compliment' option, she picked that one.

"Uh, hello froggit... You... Look nice."

"You a pretty frog!" Emily chimed in.

"Ribbit ribbit." The froggit replied, blushing slightly. Amiya's eyes widened in surprise as little white flies appeared from behind the froggit and flew at their Souls. Emily reached out curiously, as if trying to grab one, and her Soul moved closer to the projectiles as it followed her hand. Amiya quickly lifted her hand, moving her Soul in front of Emily's.

The sixteen-year-old gasped in pain as the fly hit the center of the heart, sending a stab of pain through her chest. Her Soul flashed briefly as her HP dropped from 25 to 23. The flies faded away, and Toriel stepped between the froggit and the two humans. The froggit looked up at her and scurried away, the world fading back to color.

"I apologize, young one." Toriel says, turning to Amiya and kneeling down.

"It's alright." Amiya replied, watching as Toriel lifted her and and lightly putting it on Amiya's shoulder. A light green glow came from the monster's hand, and Amiya's HP raised back up to 25. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, young one." Toriel says, then stands and continues down the hallway. "Come, we must make our way through the rest of the Ruins."

Emily looked up at Amiya as the older girl grabbed her hand. "Was that magic?"

"I... I think so..." Amiya answered, leading the way after Toriel as they followed her around the slight curve. She froze when she saw a spike bridge, pulling Emily closer to her.

"What's that?" Emily asked curiously.

"That is a puzzle, but... Here, follow me closely." Toriel says, stepping onto the spike bridge. Where she placed her foot, the spikes retracted shortly before she touched them. Amiya picked Emily up, carefully following Toriel across. "Puzzles seem a bit dangerous for now..."

"You think?" Amiya muttered, stepping off the bridge shortly after Toriel. As the monster walked into the next room, Amiya put Emily back down. "I'm not looking forward to coming back this way tomorrow..."

Emily looked up at her. "Not having fun?"

"Not really." Amiya answered, then led the way after Toriel into the next room.


	4. Chapter 3: Arrival at Home

Amiya and Emily followed Toriel through the rest of the Ruins as she guided them through the rest of the puzzles. Emily happily helped with solving them, even getting a rock-oddly enough-to move by talking to it. Amiya herself remained guarded most of the way through, in case they were attacked again. She held the wand tightly in her hand, despite feeling silly doing so. Luckily, no other monster came after them.

Toriel led the humans up the path to her house, Amiya carrying a half-asleep Emily in her arms. "Welcome to my home, young ones."

Amiya looked it over, smiling faintly. "It looks cozy. Thank you for letting us stay the night."

Toriel glanced back at her, entering the house. "... You are welcome. Follow me, I can show a place where she can rest." Amiya followed Toriel down the hall, stopping behind her when the monster stopped at a door. "You can lay her down in here."

"Thank you." Amiya says, then walked into the bedroom. The room was a bit small, but still gave off the same cozy feeling as the rest of the house. Amiya placed Emily on her feet, making the girl stir and look up at her tiredly. "Come on, Emmy. Let's get your wings off, okay?"

"Ummhmm..." Emily replied sleepily, holding out her arms. Amiya helped pull off the costume wings, lying them on the end of the bed before picking Emily back up. She pulled back the covers on the bed, gently lying Emily down. As the girl curled up on her side and hugged Snowymallow to her chest, Amiya pulled the covers over her.

"Good night, Emmy." She said softly, but gained no response. Letting out a small yawn, she picked up the wings and tugged the wand out of the loop on her jeans before placing them in a clear spot on a low shelf. Quietly leaving the room, she headed back the way she had come. Spotting a staircase out of the corner of her eye, she decided to explore it later and walked into the next room. Toriel was just walking through another doorway.

"She's fast asleep." Amiya says with a faint chuckle before letting out a faint yawn. With everything that had happened that day, plus the warmth and coziness of the house, she was feeling a bit more tired than she wanted to admit.

"Are you tired?" Toriel asked, walking over to Amiya.

"Not really..." Amiya answered before letting out another yawn. "... Maybe just a bit."

Toriel gently palced a hand on her shoulder, leading Amiya toward a large armchair in the living room. "Come, you should rest."

"No, I'm fine." Amiya protested, though she allowed Toriel to gently push her onto the chair. Amiya tucked her legs underneath her and leaned back into the chair, closing her eyes. Before drifting off to sleep, she felt Toriel cover her with a blanket...

* * *

"And then, the gingerbreadman flew across the sky!"

"Did he really?"

The sound of voices pulled Amiya from her sleep, drawing her awake. There was a sweet smell in the air, almost as if something was cooking. Opening her eyes, Amiya slipped off the purple blanket covering her as she spotted Toriel and Emily sitting at the dining table. Toriel had given the younger girl some paper and a couple of crayons, the monster glancing over a recipe book as Emily told her story. Emily was wearing her costume wings that had been fixed, presumably by Toriel, because they looked practically brand new. On the table next to Emily sat Snowymallow and the toy wand.

"What did I miss?" Amiya asked as she stood, shaking her legs to try and bring some feeling back to into them.

"Amiya! You're up!" Emily said gleefully.

"Ah, you are awake!" Toriel chimes in, closing her book. "Emily was just telling me an interesting story. I have company coming over in a bit, and in celebration of your arrival, I have made a butterscotch-cinnamon pie!"

"'Our arrival'?" Amiya echoed. "When are we returning to the place that we fell Our parents will be very worried about us by now."

Toriel's smiled faded and she clasped her hands together. "We can go to tend to the flowers later, my watering can is still at the entrance of the Ruins..."

"Yay! We're gonna water the flowers!" Emily says happily, dropping the crayon she held. She picked up Snowymallow, hugging the bear to her chest as she kicked her legs back and forth.

"But will we be able to get out?" Amiya pressed.

"... No, you will not." Toriel admitted softly. "The barrier that keeps us trapped here will shield you from the surface, so your parents would be unable to see or hear you."

Amiya stared at the monster, her eyes wide. "What? We... We're stuck down here? Why didn't you tell us that?"

"I feared you would not have believed me and would've stayed in he cavern instead of coming with me."

"We probably would've been better off there! Maybe you're wrong and this 'barrier' of some sort might not have had an effect on our parents finding us! We could've been with our parents by now!" Amiya snapped, walking over to Emily.

"Amiya..." Toriel started gently.

"Do not 'Amiya' me." The human replied coolly, taking Emily's hand and gently tugging her off the chair. "Come on, Emily. We're going to head back to the cavern." She says, grabbing the toy wand off the table.

"Okay." Emily replied, hugging her teddy bear to her chest.

"They will not be able to se you if you go to the cavern. You are safer here!" Toriel protested, worry in her voice.

 **"hey kid."** A voice interrupted, making Amiya jump. She spun around to face the figure that had appeared in the doorway of the living room, tugging Emily closer to her. **"if i were you? i'd listen t' her."**


	5. Chapter 4: First Impressions and Pie

"... You look funny," Emily said as Amiya stared at the figure, stunned. It wasn't that he he looked funny, there was nothing funny about the way he looked.. Except for, maybe, the fuzzy pink slippers on his feet. He was a skeleton probably a bit taller than Amiya herself, somewhat round (big-boned, maybe?), and wearing a blue hoodie with a pair of black and white shorts. Despite the relaxed grin on his face, his entire body was tensed as the white lights in his eyesockets were trained right on Amiya.

Amiya tightened her grip on the wand, tugging Emily closer to her. "Who are you?"

"Sans! You are here early! Where is Papyrus?" Toriel asked, looking between the two.

 **"hey tori. he's in th' basement hall. he'll be here in a sec."** Sans replied, not looking away from Amiya.

"Very good. The pie should be cooled off enough by now. Thank you for coming, Sans."

**"no problem tori. paps would'a been upset if we missed it."**

Toriel nodded slightly, starting to the kitchen. "I will be right back." She says before vanishing into the kitchen, leaving the two humans alone with the skeleton. As soon as she was out of sight, Sans began to walk toward them. Amiya raised the wand slightly, griping it tight enough that it made her knuckles turn white.

"S-Stay right where you are." She demanded, her voice quavering slightly.

Sans ignored her request, continuing to walk toward her. **"i told ya, kid. you're better off listenin' t' her."**

"Why should I? She lied to us!"

 **"probably for a good reason. tori's right. ya can only come in through that cavern. ya can't get out that way."** Sans said, stopping in front of Amiya and Emily.

Before Amiya could form a reply, a taller skeleton strode into the room; a scarf billowing out behind him and making him look almost like a superhero. _"THERE YOU ARE, SANS! YOU KNOW I HATE IT WHEN YOU-"_ He broke off, his eyesockets widening in surprise as he spotted the two humans. _"HUMANS? WHEN DID THEY ARRIVE?"_

 **"dunno, pap."** Sans replied, the tenseness in his body seeming to vanish almost immediately as he glanced at the other skeleton.

 _"IT'S BEEN QUITE SOME TIME SINCE A HUMAN HAS LAST FALLEN!"_ He stated, walking over to them. _"I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"_

Before Amiya could speak, Emily chimed in. "Can you fly?" She asked, pointing at his scarf.

Papyrus blinked at her, fiddling with his scarf for a moment. _"UNFORTUNATELY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN NOT FLY. HOWEVER!"_ Papyrus scooped Emily up under her arms, lifting her up over his head as he earned a sound of protest from Amiya. He twirled Emily around, making her giggle like mad. _"YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVE WINGS!"_

Sans chuckled as Toriel walked back into the living room, carrying a large pie. She walked over to the table, placing it in the center.

"Are you going to stay for some pie?" Toriel asked, turning to look at Amiya. Amiya hesitated for a moment. Papyrus was walking to the table, Emily in his arms, and Sans was watching her closely.

"... Sure. We can stay a bit longer..." Amiya finally replied, tucking the handle of the wand into the loop on her jeans.

"Yay! We're staying!" Emily says gleefully, clapping her hands.

 _"THAT IS WONDERFUL NEWS! I QUITE ENJOY HAVING NEW FRIENDS AROUND!"_ Papyrus exclaimed before Amiya could interject. He carefully placed Emily back in her chair, Snowymallow getting propped up on the table as Toriel gathered up the drawings, placing them on the bookshelf beside the fireplace. Papyrus took the chair next to Emily, forcing Amiya to sit across from the younger girl as Sans and Toriel took the seats on the ends of the table. After Toriel served the pie, Emily began telling stories that she had made up.

After noticing Emily talking for a few minutes with only half her pie left, Amiya interrupted. "Hey, Emily. Why don't you finish your pie, then tell us more stories?"

"Okay!" Emily says before taking another bite of her pie.

Sans took the opportunity to speak up. **"So kid. what's your story?"** He asked, looking at Amiya.

"... What?"

**"y'know. how ya fell."**

"Oh. Well, despite the rumors surrounding Mount Ebott, our parents decided they wanted to go camping at the top of the mountain. We had just finished setting up camp when Emily decided she wanted to go exploring." Amiya started.

"We were gonna look for fairies!" Emily interrupted cheerfully.

"I took Emily out exploring after our parents said we could." Amiya continued. "As we explored, Emily wandered away from me. I found her again standing by a pit, so I called out to her and ran over. She turned and slipped, but I was able to grab her. Before we could both get to safety, the ground crumbled beneath us and we fell."

"Oh dear... That's dreadful..." Toriel murmured softly.

"Well, we're both okay..." Amiya started, making Papyrus nod.

 _"YES! YOU ARE BOTH UNHURT FROM THE FALL! AND IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO HAVE YOUR SIBLINGS BY YOUR SIDE!"_ The taller skeleton said excitedly, missing a concerned glance between Sans and Toriel. Amiya, however, noticed it.

Before she could question them, Emily got her attention by pushing her plate toward her sister. "I finished. I wanna go play outside!"

"Can she?" Amiya asked, looking at Toriel.

"Yes. She may play in the front. Please keep away from the basement." Toriel says with a slight nod.

Amiya nodded, finishing up her slice of pie. "Alright, Emmy. If you stay out of the basement, you can-"

"Yay!" Emily hopped off the chair, tugging Snowymallow off the table before darting out of the living room. Papyrus, already finished with his own pie, stood and hurried out behind her as Amiya hopped to her feet. She quickly shoved the chair haphazardly underneath the table, then raced out after the two.

"Sans... It is quite concerning. Two humans have never fallen at the same time before. If they leave and _she_ catches them..."

**"don't worry, tori. ya can probably talk some sense int' th' older one."**

"And if I can not convince her to stay?"

**"... hope she's smart enough to evade them all..."**


	6. Chapter 5: Mini Adventure

The trio spent the next half hour out of the house, Amiya mostly supervising as Papyrus and Emily played together. Papyrus created puzzles for Emily to solve using some discarded bricks he'd found (after simplifying then when he realized the young human had problems solving complicated ones without Amiya's help), and Emily managed to get Papyrus to dig through the pile of leaves underneath the tree in search of a fairy's nest. Amiya was keeping an eye on Emily, the young girl fidgeting anxiously as Papyrus worked on constructing another puzzle.

 _"EMILY SOLVES MY SIMPLE PUZZLES TOO EASILY! I HAVE NO DOUBT SHE WILL SOLVE THIS ONE AS WELL!"_ Papyrus stated, shifting a few bricks around.

Amyia moved her gaze from Emily to Papyrus. "Shouldn't we head back into the house by now?"

 _"WHY SHOULD WE DO THAT?"_ Papyrus asked, not looking up from his handiwork.

"We've been out here for a while. And I want to talk to Toriel about letting us leave to head home."

_"WHY DON'T YOU GO ASK LADY TORIEL NOW?"_

"Because someone needs to... Watch..." Amiya turned to where Emily had last been standing. The little girl was gone. "... Emily... Crap."

 _"CRAP? WHAT KIND OF WORD IS THAT?"_ Papyrus asked, turning to look at Amiya.

"Emily is gone!" Amiya spun around, seeing that the young girl wasn't anywhere in the clearing. She then faced the door leading to the rest of the Ruins. "I'll be right back!" She tells Papyrus as the skeleton begins to stand, then bolted to the door.

_"HUMAN! WAIT!"_

* * *

"Gonna find some fairies!" Emily hummed to herself as she walked back through the Ruins. She knew that there were more piles of leaves _somewhere_ where they had come from, she just couldn't remember _where_. As she walked, a small winged monster stepped in front of her, making the world around the young girl fade to black and white.

"I-I'm so sorry... I-I don't... W-Want to..." The monster said quietly, wringing its hands together as it gazed at the young girl.

Emily was brought to a halt as she bumped into an invisible wall, the white heart reappearing above her chest. "Huh?" The girl hugged Snowymallow tighter, looking at the monster that was gazing at her with tears in its eyes. "Crying! Why you sad?"

"I... I don't w-want to hurt you..." The monster mumbled.

Emily took a step toward the monster, despite the invisible wall between them. "It okay! Don't-" She was cut off as the monster burst into tears, turning and running away. "... be sad..." The girl finished as the world faded back into color.

Amiya skidded around a corner, spotting Emily standing in the middle of the hallway. "Emmy!"

Emily spun around as Amiya ran over to her, Papyrus coming around the corner. "Amiya!"

 _"YOU FOUND HER!"_ Papyrus exclaimed as Amiya picked Emily up, hugging her tight. Emily held onto Snowymallow's arm with one hand, hugging Amiya's neck.

"You know I don't like it when you do that..." Amiya says as Papyrus walked over.

"Sorry..."

"It's alright. Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." Amiya looked up at Papyrus. "Let's head back to the house, now."

 _"THAT IS A VERY WISE IDEA. FOLLOW ME! THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL LEAD THE WAY!"_ The skeleton replied, turning and starting back the way they came.

Amyia smiled, hugging Emily closer before following.


	7. Chapter 6: Decisions

Toriel lightly dragged a sponge across the plate as she washed it, Sans leaning on the doorframe as he watched.

"I am quite certain Amiya will still desire to leave."

**"have ya told her th' risks of leavin' yet?"**

"No, I have not had the opportunity to inform her of them yet." Toriel responded as she rinsed the plate, careful to be sure there was no fur left on it before placing the dish in a dishrack.

**"maybe she'll change her mind after ya tell her what's awaitin' them outside of th' ruins."**

Toriel formed a ball of fire in her hands, using it to dry her fur. "And if she decides it is worth the risk to try and get home?"

Sans shifted uneasily, tucking his hands deeper into his sweatshirt pockets. **"paps an' i can keep an eye on 'em when they leave."**

Toriel glanced at Sans as the fire she held dispersed. "Is that a good idea Sans? After what happened last time..."

Sans shifted again, standing straight up. **"... that was an accident, tori. the kid snuck away from us."**

"Accident or no, that does not mean I should-"

**"paps was devastated when he realized th' kid went missing. d'ya know how hard it is to hide what undyne's doing from him? it'd break his heart to know. and y'know paps won't let the two go out on their own."**

Toriel let out a faint sigh. "I know..."

**"so if amiya wants t' leave, so be it. paps an' i can go with her and th' little one. if she was smart, she wouldn't object to that."**

"I suppose you are right." Toriel admits, starting toward the door. Sans followed her into the living room, watching Toriel grab a book and sit in her chair. As Toriel began to read, Sans walked over to the bookshelf and picked up Emily's drawings.

There were three in total, one containing a drawing of four stick people labeled as Emily's family members. The second had a green triangle and a few trees, as well as a little orange triangle next to the green one, possibly the "camping" that Amiya had mentioned their family was doing. The last picture made Sans pause. It had two stick figures, each labeled as Emily and Amiya. They were on either side of a tall figure in the middle wearing a purple triangle, labeled as 'Toriel'. Underneath the group was the word "Home" with a question mark.

**"heh..."** Sans carefully folded the last drawing, tucking it into his sweatshirt pocket before placing the other two back on top of the bookshelf. As he turned away from it, Papyrus strode in with Amiya right behind him, carrying Emily in her arms.

_"NYEH HEH HEH, WE HAVE RETURNED FROM PUZZLE SOLVING AND FAIRY HUNTING!"_ Papyrus says gleefully.

**"hey bro."**

Toriel looked up from her book, taking her glasses off as she stood and placed them with the book on top of the fireplace. "Hello Papyrus. Amiya, Emily."

"Hi Toriel!" Emily says gleefully, waving as Amiya put her down. Emily raced over, giving Toriel a hug. The monster looked down at her surprised, then knelt and wrapped her arms around Emily.

Amiya smiled weakly, slipping the wand out of the jean loop and fiddling with it in her hands.

Toriel released Emily, standing up and looking at Amiya. She took a slight breath, steadying herself. "Have you decided what you would like to do?"

Amiya gave a slight nod. "We... Well, we need to get home. Mom and dad are going to be very worried about us by now. If going through the rest of the Underground is required to get home... So be it."

Toriel gave a small nod as Emily headed over to Papyrus, getting scooped up into his arms. "Very well, then... Papyrus and Sans will be accompanying you on your journey through the Underground."

"They don't need-"

_"WE ARE?"_ Papyrus interrupted Amiya, startled. He grinned, holding Emily up in the air and spinning her around. _"NYEH HEH HEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL GLADLY ACCOMPANY YOU AND WATCH OVER YOU! JUST LIKE A ROYAL GUARDSMAN WOULD IF I WERE ONE!"_ Emily giggled, holding her arms out as he spun around.

Toriel nodded. "It is settled... Come, I will lead you to the door that will take you out of the Ruins." Papyrus, finished spinning, hurried through the doorway as Toriel started toward it. Amiya glanced down at the wand she held before tucking it into her pocket.

**"here."** Amiya jumped, startled as Sans appeared beside her, holding out two papers. **"she drew these. figured you'd want t' take them along."**

"O-Oh. Thanks." Amiya says, taking the drawings. After looking them over, she carefully folded them and tucked them into her pocket.

**"are ya sure you want t' do this?"** Sans asked her.

Amiya glanced after the others, already out of earshot. "What are you talking about? It can't be that bad out there." She says, starting toward the doorway.

Sans fell in step with her. **"ya don't get it, do ya kid? it's dangerous out there."**

"How dangerous could it be?"

**"the... empress of the underground, undyne. she's vehement on destroying humanity."**

"Why?" Amiya asked, pausing at the top of the stairs. Sans stopped beside her.

**"some monsters always hated the humans. undyne was... is one of 'em. after the kid came through and asgore as well as the six souls disappeared. she hated humans even more."**

"Six souls? Kid?"

**"yeah. ya see..."**

"Sans? Are you two coming?" Toriel called from the bottom of the stairs.

Sans looked down at her. **"yeah. we're headin' down now."** Glancing at Amiya, he mumbled **"we'll continue this later."** He started down the stairs. Amiya blinked, staring after him in confusion before following.

It didn't take long before the group was at the stone door, the exit of the Ruins. Toriel looked between the two humans before her gaze settled on Amiya. "On the other side of this door is the rest of the Underground... Sans and Papyrus will guide you through to the Barrier. which keeps all monsters trapped here." Amiya gave a slight nod as Toriel opened the door.

"Hug?" Emily reached her arms out to Toriel, who smiled sadly and took the girl from Papyrus's arms. She hugged Emily close, getting a hug back. Handing the young human back to Papyrus, she stepped out of the way as the skeleton as well as Sans followed.

**"see ya tori."**

_"GOODBYE LADY TORIEL! UNTIL WEE SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN!"_

"Goodbye Sans, Papyrus."

Amiya looked up at Toriel, then stepped forward and gave the goat monster a hug. Toriel gazed down at her, startled, then hugged her back. "Thanks for taking us in.. We won't forget this..."

"... You are welcome, young one."

Amiya gazed up at her with a small smile, then hurried out the door.

After watching them walk out into the snow, Toriel shut the door. The stone door let out a hollow-sounding _thud_ as it slammed shut, then a soft _click_ as Toriel locked it. "Goodbye, my child..." She says softly, turning and leaning her back against the door... The ex-Queen alone in the Ruins once again.

* * *

_Refuse to let it take you,_  
_Like it took all the rest._  
 _The nightmare too familiar_  
 _Replays till nothing's left._  
 _Why wrap your heart in peril_  
 _When we can hide away?_  
 _Refuse to let it take you..._  
 _Refuse to let it take you..._  
 _So won't you stay?_

_~TryHardNinja; "Stay"_


	8. Interlude: Other Happenings

_**Frisk hugged their knees to their chest, a slight shiver running through their body. They were surrounded by darkness, even the light from the six Souls in their containers was barely able to penetrate the never-ending darkness. They rubbed their arms in an attempt to get rid of the chill as they felt a pang of hunger, despite knowing it was useless. "Cold" did not exist here, and neither did "hunger". What they felt were just echos of what they had felt before they... Arrived here. They still felt the chill in the air when they confronted Asgore, the hunger from when they had finally made it to the end of the battle. And then...** _

_**And then...** _

_**... It was best if they didn't dwell on that.** _

_**Frisk buried their head into their knees. They didn't mean to hurt anyone! They had just been... Scared. For the most part. Yes there had been times where they had gotten a bit... Annoyed, but... For the most part, the had been** _ **afraid _. Tucking their legs closer, the child let out a faint sob._**

**_They couldn't even pull out their SAVE menu. This place blocked it from their reach. If they could, they'd go back. They'd fix all of their mistakes... Befriend_ EVERYONE _! If only..._**

**_A figure came up behind them, wrapping their arms around Frisk in an attempt to comfort them... But they felt nothing but a deep feeling of guilt and regret... And a deep desire to change everything they messed up._ **

* * *

For it being mid-morning, the throne room was oddly quiet other than a few monsters here and there. The quietness was interrupted as a Whimsalot flew in, their small wings beating swiftly as they rushed over to the throne. Instantly everyone else in the room was alert, their gaze settling on the frantic monster. "Empress!"

The figure on the throne, a fish monster, looked at the Whimsalot. She was wearing polished silver armor that gleamed in the light that shone in from cracks in the cavern ceiling above, a small crown that could easily be swapped with the helmet hanging from the back of the throne, and wielding a too-soon passed down trident in one hand. "What is it?"

The Whimsalot landed, catching its breath. "Th-The Ruins... The door was opened! There... There are two humans that have fallen down!"

"Two?!" The Empress of the Underground stood, looking down at the Whimsalot as they nodded.

"Yes, Empress. They were being accompanied by two skeletons as they left. What shall we do?"

Undyne went silent. Papyrus and his good-for-nothing brother Sans were escorting not only one human, but two through the Underground?

"Empress?"

Undyne slipped the crown off her head, placing it on the seat of the throne before grabbing the hanging helmet. "You will do nothing. I will deal with these humans personally."

"Empress, are you-"

"Yes, I am positive. Don't EVER question my orders again, UNDERSTAND?"

"... Yes, Empress."


	9. Chapter 7: Boring Walk Towards Town

Amiya gazed around in amazement after they stepped out the door, startled by all the snow. "H-How is this all here?" She asked as they walked.

 _"IT FALLS IN FROM CRACKS IN THE MOUNTAIN ONCE IN A WHILE. SOMEHOW IT JUST NEVER MELTS."_ Papyrus responded, cradling Emily closer as she shivered a little.

"I-It's cold..." Emily mumbled, shivering some more.

"Here." Amiya slid off her jacket, handing it to Papyrus. The skeleton took it, helping Emily pull the jacket on.

 _"WON'T YOU BE COLD AS WELL?"_ Papyrus asked, looking down at her.

Amiya shook her head, rubbing her arm as she started feeling goosebumps. "No, I'll be fine. Emily needs it more than me."

Papyrus looked down at her in concern. _"WELL... IF YOU SAY SO, I SUPPOSE YOU ARE OKAY. JUST DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ADMIT TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS WHEN YOU ARE WRONG, NYEH HEH HEH!"_ Emily giggled as Amiya rolled her eyes, amused.

"If you want." She said with a light laugh, rubbing her arms again as the group started walking. "So... Where to?"

 _"SNOWDIN! THAT IS WHERE SANS AND I LIVE!"_ Papyrus proclaimed proudly, shortening his stride so Sans and Amiya didn't have to rush to keep up. He wrapped the end of his scarf around Emily when she shivered again despite having been given Amiya's jacket, hugging Snowymallow tight. _"AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE SHOULD HURRY!"_

"Probably..." Amiya murmured as Papyrus took the lead, staying ahead of her and Sans by one stride.

 **"you sure you're alright, kid?"** Sans asked as he glanced at Amiya, who was shivering a bit.

"H-Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Emily needed the jacket more than I do." She answered.

Sans glanced between her and Papyrus, tucking his hands further into his sweatshirt pockets as he lightly touched the drawing he had taken. **"heh..."**

Amiya glanced at him, confused. "What are you laughing at?"

**"nothin'. you just seem a bit... determined to do anything for her, huh?"**

Amiya frowned. "Well... She's my younger sister, of course I am. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she's safe. I'm pretty sure you would do the same for Papyrus."

Sans glanced at Papyrus. **"... heh. i suppose i would."**

 _"WE ARE IN SNOWDIN FOREST."_ Papyrus's voice cut into their conversation, drawing their attention to him. He was peering down at Emily in his arms, probably having answered a question for her. _"DO NOT WORRY! WE WILL MAKE IT TO WARMTH SOON! THE TWO LAZYBONES JUST HAVE TO PICK UP THEIR PACES!"_

Amiya stared at him wide-eyed as Sans let out a snort. "Lazybones?"

 _"OF COURSE! YOU TWO ARE BEING SUCH SLOWPOKES!"_ Papyrus retorted, making Emily giggle.

Amiya blinked. "... Well, I guess we may be a little." She says, then glanced around as they passed through a weird... Thing built over a bridge. "What's this?"

 _"IT IS A GATE I HAD BUILT TO STOP HUMANS FROM PASSING THROUGH SNOWDIN! SOMEHOW, ANY HUMANS THAT COME ALWAYS SEEM TO BE SLIPPERY SNAILS AND FIND A WAY THROUGH!"_ Papyrus stated, making Amiya glance back at the gate.

"Well... It's because it's too big."

 _"NONSENSE! IT IS JUST THE RIGHT SIZE FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO PASS THROUGH!"_ Papyrus countered, making Amiya let out a faint laugh.

As they walked through the forest, Papyrus pointed out several places as if he were giving a tour. They went through a few puzzle areas, but Papyrus waved Amiya on through seeing as they "were already friends" and he only had non-friends complete his puzzles.

The 'tour' went on until they came to a station like the one they'd passed back near the Ruins. The only difference was that, as they started past, a dog popped up from behind the counter in the station. Sans reached out, grabbing Amiya's shoulder to force her to stop. The sudden jolt nearly awoke the sleeping Emily in her arms, having long since taken her from Papyrus.

 **"hush."** Sans mumbled. **"don't move."** Amiya didn't hesitate to listen, stiffening up as she hugged Emily closer.

 _"HELLO DOGGO!"_   Papyrus said happily, waving a hand at the dog as it climbed over the counter to stand in front of them.

"Papyrus. Hello." The dog said, his eyes somewhat narrowed as they darted back and forth. "Heading back to Snowdin? Done with whatever you're doing with the door?"

 _"YES WE ARE!"_ Papyrus said gleefully. _"WE WERE JUST ESC-"_

 **"we were just headin' back now."** Sans interjected, making Papyrus look down at him in annoyance. The shorter skeleton was still gripping Amiya's shoulder, holding her in place. Emily stirred a little, and Amiya hugged her tighter in the hope that she wouldn't wake up. **"we're in quite a rush actually. so we should prob-"**

 _"DON'T BE FOOLISH, SANS! WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO STOP AND CHAT!"_ Papyrus stated, frowning down at his brother. He then turned to Doggo again. _"HAVE YOU SEEN DOGAMY AND DOGARESSA? HAVE THEY RETURNED FROM VACATION YET?"_ Sans winced, making Amiya glance at him.

"Is that where they went off to?" Doggo asked, shifting a blade between his hands. "I thought they were pulling a prank and standing still, not answering me."

Sans glanced at Amiya as he noticed Emily begin to stir. **"pap, we really should ge-"** He was broken off as Emily blinked awake, yawning as she reached up to rub her eyes. Doggo's gaze immediately set on her and Amiya as the older girl looked down at her sister.

"I see something moving! Something that wasn't there before!" He said, darting toward the humans. Amiya swiftly took two steps back, but before either skeleton could get involved, the world around the humans and Doggo faded to black and white. As Sans and Papyrus watched, something like a shiny film surrounded the three, cutting off the skeletons from intervening.

 _"DOGGO, WAIT! DO NOT HURT THEM! THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS!"_ Papyrus exclaimed, but Doggo gave no sign of hearing him.

Amiya stepped back, finding herself bumping into the invisible wall again as Emily peered around, their Souls appearing right in front of them. "... Doggy?" Emily asled, spotting Doggo.

"Are you humans?" Doggo asked as his eyes shifted around, trying to spot them again. His gaze settled on Emily as the girl looked around, his eyes narrowing. He pulled out a blue blade, gripping tight to the handle.

**"kid, hold still!"**

_"DON'T MOVE, HUMANS!"_

"Emily, don't move, okay? It's a game, we have to sit still for as long as possible." Amiya hissed through her teeth as Doggo lunged at them.

"Okay." Emily stated, looking up at her. Amiya forced herself to stand still, hugging Emily tight as the blade swung closer... And passed right through them.

"Hm... I don't see anything..." Doggo mumbled to himself, his narrowed shifting back and forth.

 _"GIVE HIM A PET! HE LOVES TO BE PET!"_ Papyrus advised them. Amiya glanced at he and Sans. Well, they had been right about everything else so far. Emily didn't hesitate, stretching up and petting Doggo on the head.

"I'VE BEEN PET! PET PAT POT PAT POT PET?!" Doggo exclaimed, making Emily giggle. The dog swung the blade wildly, missing Emily and Amiya by a few inches. "I've been pet by something that wasn't moving!"

Amiya swiftly spared him, making the world around them fade back into color and their Souls drift back into their chests. Doggo took a few steps back, aiming for his sentry station. "I... I-I-I'm gonna n-need some d-dog treats f-for this..." He muttered, diving back into his station.

"Bye Doggy!" Emily exclaimed, waving as he disappeared.

Amiya glanced at Sans as he seemed to relax, his gaze darting to Papyrus. **"c'mon bro, we need t' get back to town."**

 _"... YES SANS, YOU ARE CORRECT! WE MUST HEAD BACK NOW!"_ Papyrus stated, turning and starting to head back through the forest. Amiya gladly followed, hugging Emily tighter.

Sans waited until they were a few steps ahead before tailing along behind them, thinking about the colors of he two human Souls. One pink, a sort of hot pink. The other... A white Soul. Dedication... And Purity.


	10. Chapter 8: Going For a Swim

After nearly a half hour of walking, and being ushered away from three other dogs by Sans as Papyrus distracted them, Amiya asked Papyrus to stop so she and Emily could rest. Papyrus only reluctantly agreed after Sans convinced him that was better for them, and then Amiya tucked herself and Emily into a small hollow between two tree trunks and a large bush where snow had not been able to fall into. Papyrus and Sans "stood guard" outside of the hollow.

Amiya gratefully sat down, leaning against one of the tree trunks as she rubbed her arms. They were becoming red from the cold, and she knew she'd probably get sick if they didn't get to town soon.

"Can we go play in the snow?" Emily asked, looking at her older sister hopefully.

"No, Emily. Not right now."

"Aww, but I want to play!"

"No."

"Can we go exploring then?"

"No. I'm sorry, Emmy, but this is no time to play." Amiya said, making Emily pout.

Amiya rubbed her arms again before glancing around the small hollow they had hid themselves in. The branches still, somehow, had leaves, which combined with the way that the branches were close together helped keep snow out of their hidey hole. As she gazed around in the brief moment of reprieve, she began to think of what Sans had been trying to say back in Home. With the dog attacks, Papyrus constantly in earshot, and Sans nearly avoiding them since he spotted their Souls during the first dog fight; he hadn't told her much more of anything, nor had she had a chance to think about it. What was Sans talking about with an empress, six souls-whatever those were, and some kid? What was the story behind all that?

As she thought, the sound of movement interrupted her thoughts as Emily crawled out of the hollow, her costume wings barely clipping the top of the opening.

"Emily!" Amiya called as the little girl stood when she was out. The little girl giggled and ran off. "Can't catch me!" She called as Amiya started to crawl out of the hollow. Their conversation got the attention of Sans and Papyrus, who were standing further down the path having a conversation of their own.

_"EMILY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"_ Papyrus asked, racing down the path. Amiya stood, brushing snow off her jeans before bolting after Emily.

**"holy shit. this kid likes t' cause trouble."** Sans mumbled to himself, shaking his head as he started to walk after Papyrus.

Emily dove between a few trees, giggling like mad as Amiya and Papyrus; more so Papyrus, began to catch up to her.

"Emily, please! Get back here!" Amiya called, weaving between a few trees.

"I-" Emily broke off, skidding to a stop just in time as she came to the edge of a slight cliff a little over ten feet high with a river running at the bottom of it. Emily hugged Snowymallow tight as she gazed down at the river in shock.

_"GET BACK FROM HERE, EMILY! YOU MIGHT FALL INTO THE RIVER, AND IT ISN'T GOOD TO GO FOR A SWIM IF YOU DON'T HAVE WATERPROOF CLOTHES!"_ Papyrus stated, slowing his steps a little.

Amiya made one last lunge for Emily as the smaller girl stepped back a little, grabbing onto Emily's shoulder. She gave Emily a slight push away from the edge, making the small girl get thrown back as the ground began to crumble beneath their feet from their combined weight. Before Amiya could even try and hop away, the ground gave way and she tumbled down into the river.

_"AMIYA!"_ Papyrus called, managing to pull further away as Emily cried for her older sister.

Sans shortcutted to the group in time to watch Amiya fall, his eyesockets widening. **"shit."**

Despite the shallow appearance of the river, it was surprisingly deep. Amiya miraculously hut the water feet first, finding the water was at least eight feet deep. She squeezed her eyes shut tight as she was suddenly shocked cold, barely able to keep herself from gasping at it and losing what little air she had. She tried desperately to kick toward the surface as the current started carrying her down the river. Her head managed to break the surface and she took a deep breath, coughing a little as her chest felt compressed due to the cold. The current, thankfully, wasn't too strong, but it still brought her along as she worked to keep her head above the water. The cold water was making her already cold arms as well as the rest of her body feel numb and her head slowly began to dip back underwater.

_"'Mia! Look what I made!" Emily scurried up to Amiya, holding something rainbow-colored in her hands._

_"What is it?" Amiya asked, smiling down at her sister._

_"You gotta close your eyes first and hold out your hands!" Emily giggled, making Amiya laugh softly and do as Emily requested. She felt something be put in her hands before Emily stated happily "Open your eyes!"_

_Amiya opened her eyes, looking down at what she was holding. It was a bracelet that had multiple colored strings entwined together, tied to create a somewhat large loop that would fit over her hand. She smiled. "I love it, Emmy!" She says, pulling it on and hugging her sister tightly. "Thanks for making it!"_

**_YOU MUST REMAIN DEDICATED._ **

**_YOU MUST REMAIN DEDICATED._ **

**_YOU MUST REMAIN..._ **

**_YOU MUST..._ **


	11. Chapter 9: Awakening and Chatter

**_"c'mon, we... get to... hurry, we don't..."_ **

The words faded in and out as Amiya began to awake, slowly fading into conscious. She was moving, somewhat. Being carried, probably. There was a slight weight and warmth covering her, her chest hurt a bit, and her entire body was numb. Before she could try and focus much more, she drifted back into the darkness...

-00000-

_Papyrus raced down the cliff, aiming toward Snowdin as Amiya's head ducked under the water. Sans followed-actually running for once-with Emily right behind him. Monsters jumped to the side as Papyrus raced past, breathing apologies until he made it to the boat station. Thankfully, the Riverperson was not there, and Papyrus dove into the river without hesitation. Sans skidded to a stop as he grabbed Emily, forcing her into a stop as she cried for her sister._

_The shorter skeleton stared at the spot where his brother had disappeared into the river, although he wasn't really concerned that much for him. Skeletons didn't need to breathe, after all; it was the human he was concerned about. As far as he know, humans couldn't breathe water._

_It didn't take long before Amiya's head was poked above the water again, although the girl was clearly unconscious._

_"AMIYA!" Emily cried to her, startling Sans. The skeleton tightened his grip on her, refusing to let her fall into the river._

**_"it's alright, kid. paps got her."_ ** _Sans stated, watching her head drift closer. When they were close enough to the edge of the river, Papyrus managed to heave Amiya onto the edge of the riverbank. Sans let go of Emily long enough to grab Amiya, tugging her away from the edge._

_Emily began to shake Amiya as Papyrus pulled himself out of the river, letting out a faint cough. "Amiya! Wake up!"_

_Sans slid his sweatshirt off as Papyrus picked up Amiya, covering the human with it as she shivered. **"c'mon, bro. we gotta get to the house. and hurry, we don't want t' draw attention."**_

_"OF COURSE NOT, BROTHER!" Papyrus stated and started hurrying to the house. Sans grabbed Emily's hand, the girl clinging tight to her teddy bear as he led the way after Papyrus._

-00000-

Amiya let out a faint groan as she began to awake. Her entire body felt sore, her chest ached, and she felt like something was pressing down on her body. She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself staring at the ceiling and covered by at least five blankets. She slowly began to push herself into a sitting position, wincing.

**"heh."** The voice startled Amiya, making her look around. She was lying on a couch in... Someone's house. Sans was sitting on a chair a few feet from the couch, lacking his sweatshirt and was wearing just a gray T-Shirt. He had been watching her with a purple book in his lap, having stopped from doing something with it. **"ya woke up."**

"I-I... Wh-What happened?" Amiya asked, wincing as she rubbed at her chest. Why did it ache?

**"paps dove into the river after you after your head dipped under."** Sans answered, closing the book and placing it on the corner of the TV stand with the pencil he had been writing with. **"you've been out for about two hours now. paps is upstairs. possibly just finishin' up the kiddo's new outfit."**

Amiya blinked. "New... Outfit?"

**"yeah. all monsters in the underground know what humans look like now. undyne made sure of that. so paps is gonna try and disguise her. i think he's gonna incorporate her wings somehow."** Sans said, shrugging a little. **"not sure."**

"Oh..." Amiya said after a moment, then carefully pushed the blankets off. She blinked, startled as she gazed down at herself. She was wearing a pair of navy blue pants with a long sleeve orange shirt. Both were a bit too big on her, but seemed to had been fitted so they didn't fall off. Unfortunately... She had lost the bracelet in the river.

**"paps did a quick sewing job on that so they weren't hangin' off ya completely."** Sans said, standing and walking into the kitchen, reappearing with a mug of... Something. **"they're some of his old clothes. before he started wearing his "battle body" all the time."** Sans handed Amiya the mug. **"here. it's hot chocolate. paps made it and kept it warm by microwaving it."**

"Thanks." Amiya says, taking a sip and wincing. Her throat hurt a bit from swallowing. "Where are my clothes now?"

**"dryer."** Sans replied, sitting in the chair again. **"you can get your socks and shoes back when they're done. paps'll probably let you keep those. and ya might end up with one of my hoodies t' hide yourself."**

"Alright..." Amiya says, taking another sip. She looked up at a door opened upstairs and Emily raced down the stairs, Snowymallow tucked under one arm and the fairy wand held in the other. Papyrus followed her down, though at a bit of a slower pace.

"Amiya!" The girl said excitedly, hopping down the last step and hugging her sister's leg tightly. "You're awake!"

Amiya smiled, shifting the mug to one arm and rubbing Emily's head with the other. "Yeah, I am. I see you've got a costume!"

"I'm a fairy!" Emily stated proudly. She was wearing a white T-Shirt that had been resized to fit her as a dress with two glitter-covered green stripes near her waist, and a glitter-covered green trim on the bottom. She wore black "pants", a pair of shorts that were big enough to be pants on her, as well as her costume wings.

"I see that."

"What are you gonna be?" Emily asked.

"I think I'm going to... Be a spy." Amiya stated, taking another sip of her hot chocolate.

_"I HOPE THE HOT CHOCOLATE IS TO YOUR LIKING! THOUGH, AS I MADE IT, IT SHOULD BE THE GREATEST YOU'VE HAD, NYEH HEH HEH!"_ Papyrus stated. _"I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT HOT CHOCOLATE IS GOOD TO WARM OTHERS UP!"_

"It's really good." Amiya said with a faint nod.

**"well, paps. i think we should leave in a half hour."**

_"A HALF HOUR? WHY SHOULD WE DO THAT!"_

**"t' get them t' the barrier."** Sans replied, picking up his notebook and standing.

_"YES, GOOD POINT... THEN WE SHALL LEAVE WITHIN THE NEXT HALF HOUR! THE DRYER SHOULD BE DONE BY THEN!"_ Papyrus stated happily. With that said, Papyrus turned and started up the stairs.

Emily placed the wand on the couch, tugging on Amiya's hand. "Let's go upstairs too!"

"Alright, alright." Amiya says, letting out a faint cough before standing. Emily let go of her hand, hurrying up the stairs. Amiya grabbed the wand before following.

Sans waited until they were all upstairs, then glanced down at his notebook. Tightening his grip on it, he shortcutted from the room and left the living room empty.


	12. Interlude: Noteworthy

Sans appeared behind the house, facing a door that only a select few had known about... They were all gone now. Sans hesitated, key in hand as he reached for the doorknob with the notebook tucked underneath his other arm. It had been quite some time since he came here... With a slight shake up his skull, he unlocked the door and headed inside.

_**Journal Entry Number 253. Date, XX/XX/2065.** _

_**Two humans fell into the Underground this time, one older and one younger. When I arrived at Toriel's house, the older one seemed to be threatening Tori. When Tori left the room, I checked their Stats. They both had Zero EXP, and were LV One. However, I did not learn of their Soul colors until later. I am the only monster, as far as I know, that can check Stats without seeing their Souls.** _

**_I began trying to decipher what their Soul traits could be. I believed Amiya's to be Determination, and Emily's to be Kindness. These assumptions, however, turned out to be wrong._ **

Sans flicked on the light, and two overhead light bulbs lit up the room. The lab was covered in a thin layer of dust from a lack of use, covering the table, the floor, and the hidden machine. Sans closed and locked the door behind him, then stepped further into the room. Each step left a footprint in the dust as he walked toward the counter.

_**During their fight with Doggo, I discovered their Souls were Dedication and Purity. While Dedication could be an expected trait... The Purity trait of Emily's Soul surprised me.** _

_**Dedication is similar to Determination, hence the hot pink color. However, Determination is more focused on goals. What one wishes to accomplish. Dedication is focused on desires. This shows in Amiya's desire to return to the surface. Her desire to bring Emily through the Underground; the Dedication to bring their family together again.** _

Sans placed the notebook on the counter, next to the dust-covered blueprints. He opened a drawer, digging through the papers inside it. They were all notes, some taken from... Somewhere that he had written. They were unlike his normal handwriting; typically, he left out capital letters or punctuation, but... These did not. Someone had drilled it into his skull that scientific notes were always, _always_ , written correctly.

**_Purity, however... That trait startled me. I was not aware that humans even possessed that Soul trait... The trait of all Monster Souls. For Monsters, all Soul traits-minus Determination-are equally combined. One trait does not outweigh the other, hence the pure white Soul color._ **

**_Human Souls, on the other hand, always have a different combination of traits. We assumed this to be the truth. All humans that fell before the kid did had different amounts of each trait, with one outweighing the others and giving the Soul its color. Could other humans have a Purity Soul? Or is the chance of one having a Purity Soul one-in-a-million?_ **

Sans let out a small sigh, not finding anything useful. He glanced up at a clock in the lab, realizing the half hour was almost up. Grabbing the notebook, he leaned against the wall and began to write again.

**_With a Purity Soul, would a human still have Determination? Or, like a Monster Soul, does it lack that specific trait? Will a human Soul without Determination still remain after death? Or shatter when the human dies like a Monster's Soul? I will have to keep a close eyesocket on Emily..._ **

With another glance at the clock, Sans closed the notebook and lay it back on the table with the pencil on top of it. Walking over to the door, he flicked off the light and shortcutted out of the lab and on the other side of the door. Dragging his sippers in the snow to get rid of most of the dust, he walked around the side of the house and headed toward the front door.


	13. Chapter 10: Loss of Purity

As Papyrus bustled around the house with Emily in his arms, preparing to leave, Sans tapped Amiya on her shoulder. **"hey, kid."**

Amiya started, looking up from folding the outfits she and Emily had been wearing and putting them in a bag. Papyrus had washed and dried their clothes, and assured Amiya he'd carry the bag in his inventory. She wasn't sure how that was going to work, but she was going to trust him. "What do you need?"

Sans held out a small, bunched ball of paper. **"i forgot t' give this to ya earlier. they were ruined in the river."** He adds as Amiya took the damp paper from him; the two drawings Emily had done back in Toriel's home.

"Oh..." Amiya looked down at the paper ball in silence for a moment, then tucked it into the sweatshirt pocket. "Well... She can always draw more when we get home..."

 **"if ya say so."** Sans replied, then headed toward the door. Amiya put Emily's sweatshirt into the bag, then tied it up and stood with the bag in her hands.

Papyrus exited the kitchen, Emily sitting on his shoulders. _"ARE YOU READY TO LEAVE, AMIYA?"_

"Yes, I am." The teen answered as the skeleton walked over.

 _"VERY GOOD! UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE TO WALK THROUGH WATERFALL TO GET TO HOTLAND! THE RIVERPERSON HAS NOT YET RETURNED TO THE SNOWDIN DOCK!"_ Papyrus informed her, taking the bag from Amiya. It suddenly vanished from his grasp, startling the human.

"Wh-Wha-?" Before Amiya could finish, Papyrus strode toward the door.

 _"ONWARD TO WATERFALL!"_ He exclaimed happily, making Emily giggle as she tightened her grip on both Papyrus's skull and Snowymallow.

Amiya stared after him for a moment in a startled silence, then grabbed the fairy wand Emily had left discarded on the couch. She slipped it into the front pocket of the dark orange hoodie Sans had lent her. Pushing her hair back, she tugged the hood over her head before following the others out the door.

Sans and Papyrus's house was located on the edge of the snow-covered town, dimly-lit Christmas lights hanging on the roof of most of the buildings. The town had a cheery feel to it, but was oddly devoid of monsters. The only ones in sight were Papyrus with Emily on his shoulders, and Sans tagging along a step and a half behind.

Amyia hurried after them, jogging to catch up. "Why... Why isn't anyone else... Outside?" She asked Sans when she caught up to him, slowing to match his speed. Amiya found herself breathing harder, the effort to catch up seeming to make her short of breath.

 **"curfew."** Sans responded shortly.

 _"UNDYNE SET A CURFEW FOR THE UNDERGROUND!"_ Papyrus replied as the amount of snow underneath their feet dwindled. Within two steps, they were walking on a dark blue colored rock. _"CIVILIAN MONSTERS HAD TO BE IN THEIR HOMES AN HOUR AGO UNLESS ALLOWED OTHERWISE! AS SENTRIES, SANS AND I ARE ABLE TO STAY OUT A BIT LATER!"_

"Why stay inside?" Emily asked.

_"I AM NOT ENTIRELY SURE... SHE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT IT KEEPING MONSTERS SAFER."_

**"it allows her to keep a tighter control over monsters."** Sans grumbled. If Papyrus had heard his brother, the taller skeleton didn't comment on it.

Before Amiya could ask any questions, Emily exclaimed "Pretty!". The teen was confused for a moment, then what Emily had seen came into view. The cavern they had been in seemed almost to have shrunk, though a stairway through a door proved otherwise. The walls on the left of them were a darker blue than the floor they walked on, with glowing crystals lighting the path. On their right, there was a vast span of luminescent water dotted with islands of rock; each bridged to the other to create a pathway. Most islands contain tall blue flowers, some containing a few while others contained clusters of them.

"This is... How?" Amiya breathed, stunned.

 **"heh. quite a shock, huh?"** Sans asked, glancing at her. Amiya nodded.

 _"I DO NOT KNOW WATERFALL VERY WELL..."_ Papyrus admitted. _"I ONLY KNOW THE WAY TO UNDYNE'S HOUSE."_

 **"it's a straight path, pap."** Sans said. **"just don't branch off th' main path and we should be fine."**

_"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT, SANS? YOU DON'T TRAVEL THROUGH WATERFALL OFTEN!"_

**"trust me, pap. i know my way around."** Sans replied with a slight grin.

 _"HMMPH_." Papyrus gently tapped Emily's legs, making sure she was still secured on his shoulders. _"VERY WELL. I SUPPOSE I COULD TRUST YOU THIS TIME."_

Sans chuckled faintly, then gazed around. **"kinda surprised we haven't come across them yet..."**

"Come across who?" Amiya asked. glancing at Sans.

 _"DO YOU MEAN THE ROYAL GUARD PATROL?"_ Papyrus asked, glancing back at the two. Sans nodded as the confused look on Amiya's face grew. _"THE ROYAL GUARD PATROLS EACH AREA OF THE UNDERGROUND!"_ The taller skeleton explained. _"NORMALLY THERE IS THREE TO A PATROL, AND MORE THAN ONE ARE OFTEN IN THE AREA, UNLESS UNDYNE IS PATROLLING! SHE TENDS TO DO ONE AREA HERSELF, THOUGH SHE HAS NOT DONE SO SINCE SHE BECAME RULER OF THE UNDERGROUND! IT_ IS _QUITE CURIOUS AS TO WHY WE HAVEN'T ENCOUNTERED A PATROL YET."_

"That's good, though, isn't it? It's less of a chance of Emily and I being discovered as human." Amiya stated.

 **"yup."** Sans responded as they walked. After a bit more chit chat over the next half hour, they had to stop for a break. Amiya had a sharp pain in her lower chest area, and the force of it had caused her to stumble.

 _"YOU WILL BE HIDDEN IF YOU REST HERE!"_ Papyrus says as he placed Emily down near a patch of tall grass. The little girl giggled and raced in, making the grass sway a bit.

"Hide-and-seek!"

"No, Emily. We're not going to play hide-and-seek right now." Amiya responded, following her sister into the grass. Her head still stuck out of the top of the grass, so she ducked down and carefully sat on the ground. The patch of grass was surprisingly large, especially from where Amiya sat. Leaning back a bit, the teen started when her hand hit something. Grabbing it, she leaned forward again and looked at what she'd found. It was a baseball cap, white with blue and red stripes on it.

_**Discarded Cap, +2 DEF  
** _ **_A damp baseball cap. The visor intimidates weaker monsters... Somehow._ **

"... Huh... That's odd... I wonder where this came from..." After looking it over and adjusting it a few times, she placed the cap over the hood she wore. "Hey, Emily! I found something!" There was no response, and Amiya shot to her feet. Sans and Papyrus stopped the conversation they'd been having, both looking at her.

_"WHAT IS THE MATTER, AMIYA? WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT?"_

"I think Emily ran off again!" Amiya explained, hurrying out of the grass.

 **"again? can't that kid stay still?"** Sans grumbled.

 _"I SUPPOSE WE ARE PLAYING HIDE-AND-SEEK AFTER ALL! SHE COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN FAR! LET US GO FIND HER!"_ Amiya raced off, Papyrus following her.

 **"that kid's a bit of trouble..."** Sans groaned, then followed the two at a slower pace.

* * *

Emily ran through some of the tall blue flowers, giggling as she held onto Snowymallow's arm with one hand. She burst out of the flowers, startling a turtle-like type of monster. It jumped, dropping a red card it had been holding.

"Wosh u hand!" The Woshua exclaimed, glaring at her. It then picked the card off the ground with it's mouth, then waddled off.

"Bye!" Emily waved at the retreating monster, then stepped closer to the water. Hugging Snowymallow close to her chest, the child watched a few bubble float to the surface and pop at the top. A clanking sound startled Emily, making her look around... But nothing could be seen, at first. Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed above her, cornering Emily at the edge of the water.

Emily looked up at the shadow in fear as the white heart reappeared over her chest. "H-Hi."

The shadow waved a hand, and the little girl was rooted in place, trembling. Focused on the shadow, she didn't see the spears surrounding her sides and back.

**_11/15 HP_ **

**_7/15 HP_ **

**_3/15 HP_ **

**_0/15 HP_ **


	14. Chapter 11: Talking Through Teeth

Undyne looked down at the still human, their colored-green Soul hovering a few inches over their chest. With her magic still affecting it, the Soul should not shatter long enough to get it into an SCU. She sent out a message to the Royal Guard members waiting somewhere back in Waterfall. It didn't take long for them to arrive. First were the two Whimsalots carrying the Soul Containment Unit, though both struggled a bit from the weight of it. Undyne placed the Soul inside, the SCU closing and sealing itself just as the green magic faded. As the Whimsalots flew off with the SCU, returning to the castle, a Knight Knight finally arrived. She gingerly took the child's body into her arms, then hurried on after the Whimsalots.

Although she didn't have any respect for the humans, Undyne followed in Asgore's footsteps with putting the human's remaining body into a coffin. It kept the deeds that had been done out of sight from the other monsters... And, more specifically, Papyrus. Straightening up, Undyne turned and started walking away from the water. The second human was still out there, with Papyrus or no, and Undyne was going to make sure this human's Soul was reaped.

After leaving, the only evidence of anything having happened on the bank of the water was the somewhat dirty white teddy bear lying on it's back, the smile still on its snout as it gazed at the cavern ceiling.

* * *

After racing over several bridges with Papyrus right behind her, Amyia had to take a break. She placed her hands on her knees as she breathed deeply, her lower lungs hurting.

_"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, AMIYA?"_ Papyrus asked worriedly as he watched the human.

"Y-Yeah... I... I should be fine... In a... Second." Amiya replied between each breath.

Sans caught up with them, glancing down at Amiya. **"you stay here for a sec, kid. you're still recoverin' from the river."** Glancing at Papyrus, the smaller skeleton continued. **"i'll go on ahead. see if i can find somethin'. paps will stay with you. when you're ready t' move on, he'll come with ya. that okay, papyrus?"**

_"YES, BROTHER! I WILL KEEP AN EYESOCKET ON AMIYA! AS SOON AS YOU FEEL FINE, AMIYA, WE WILL HEAD OFF!"_ Papyrus stated, looking at the teen.

Amiya coughed. "Th-Thanks."

Sans glanced at the two, then headed forward. Though Waterfall was an area that changed often from wide, cavernous areas to small multi-floored areas, Emily couldn't be that hard to find. She was smaller, and _didn't_ have shortcutting powers, so she couldn't go too far. Sans stepped off the path as he reached a bridge leading to a large island containing field of echo flowers. From what he had been able to figure out from just watching the girl, he doubted she would've kept running on the main path. This conclusion was true, as he could hear the flowers echoing the young human's giggles. With a shake of his skull Sans brushed through the flowers, carefully pushing the flowers to the side as he walked. It didn't take long for him to get to the other side, making it to a dead end, if you couldn't jump the three foot gap to the next island. No one was there. Sans shrugged, starting to turn around before a white thing caught his eye and he froze.

Sans walked over to it, looking down at the discarded bear. Emily had never let go of it in the time that she'd been in his sights, so he doubted that she'd just dropped it. Sans knelt down, picking up Snowymallow. **"god, kid... you shouldn't have run off..."** Undyne had gotten to her, he knew it in his Soul. With the kid constantly wandering off, he knew that something bad had to have happened sooner or later. Sans stood, looking at the bear in his hand. The poor kid had been taken, defenseless against Undyne. Another Soul that the warrior-turned Empress had reaped. One Soul closer to breaking the barrier and waging a war against humanity that would no doubt end in failure.

The skeleton started when he heard Papyrus and Amiya rustling through the flowers behind him. With one last glance at the bear, he grabbed it with his magic. With a snap of his fingers, the toy was gone. Elsewhere in the Underground.

_"SANS! THERE YOU ARE! YOU DIDN'T GO VERY FAR!"_ Papyrus stated as he came up, Amiya close behind him.

**"sorry, pap. thought emily might've come this way."** Sans said with a shrug.

Amiya glanced around. "... I guess she didn't? I doubt she could've made it over the gap..."

Sans glanced at Amiya, slipping his hands in his pockets. **"th' kiddo didn't come this way. she might be further ahead."**

Amiya nodded, turning and starting through the flowers again.

_"WELL, BROTHER! WE MUST MOVE ON AHEAD IF WE WISH TO CATCH UP TO HER!"_

**"heh, yeah."** Sans gave Papyrus a weak grin, watching as his brother headed after the human. It had been an easy lie to tell, though lying was always easy if you had done it long enough like he had. If Amiya learned the truth, her Dedication to get home would've diminished. And without her Dedication, she stood an even lesser chance of getting past Undyne. Sans sighed, then started after the two again. To find someone they'd never see again.


	15. Chapter 12: Learning the Past

The trio split up again, Papyrus heading off on his own as he hurried ahead. Amiya walked beside Sans, as running seemed to have become a struggle for the human teen.

Sans tucked his hands deeper into his pockets. **"so, kid. remember what i was tellin' ya back in the ruins?"**

Amiya glanced at the skeleton, about to ask what he meant before remembering what he was talking about. The six Souls, the Empress... The other child that had fallen. "Yeah. Why?"

**"well... years and years ago. monsters and humans lived in peace on the surface. but one day... fearing the monsters would steal their souls. humans trapped the monsters underground with a barrier."**

"... Oh." Amiya looked back ahead as they walked. "The barrier is where we're heading, isn't it?"

**"yup."** Sans gave a slight nod, then continues on with his story. **"so. after he managed to acquire a human soul, the prince left through the barrier."** As Amiya opened her mouth to interrupt, Sans pulled a hand out of his pocket and waved away her question. **"the humans reacted poorly to his arrival... they attacked the prince. he managed to return through the barrier and to the castle. but it was too late. he died from the injuries the humans had caused."**

Amiya glanced at Sans in surprise. "The humans... Killed him?"

**"yup. and in his grief and anger... ASGORE, king of the underground. decided to declare war on humanity... any human that fell down here would be killed."**

"Killed?" Amiya paused in her steps, staring at Sans. "What for!?" With a sigh, the skeleton stopped walking.

**"the king needed seven souls to open the barrier. he had collected six when a human with a red soul fell. they came through and killed a few monsters... including ASGORE. then the human vanished with the collected souls. when the queen tried to take over in his place, the underground rebelled. tori was banished to the ruins."**

"Wait, 'Tori'? Toriel was the queen?" Amiya asked, looking surprised.

**"technically, she still is. even with undyne as empress. she and ASGORE never divorced."** Sans replied with a slight shrug. **"but after undyne became empress... she decided to continue what ASGORE had started. though she is a bit more vehement about it."**

"Finish... What he started?" Amiya's eyes widened. "Th-That means we need to hurry and find Emily!" The girl started to race past Sans, but the skeleton reached out and grabbed the hoodie sleeve. "Sans, let go! We need to find her!"

**"you won't."**

Amiya looked at him. "Wh-What? Of course we will, she didn't get-"

**"undyne already got t' her."** Sans stated. **"i'm sorry, kid. she's dead."**

"No, you're lying to me!"

**"kid, you wouldn't even be able t' tell if i was lying t' ya."**

Amiya tugged her sleeve from his grip. "She's _fine_! She's most likely ahead of us, distracted by some flower or something!" With that, she started running again.

**"kid!"** Sans shook his skull, walking after her.

Amiya raced through some flowers, her breathing steadily becoming harder as she ran. Running blindly, she tripped on a jutting stone and fell, the cap flying from her head. Amiya coughed hard, it taking a couple of minutes before she could get it to stop as tears streamed from her eyes. When she finally managed to stop, wiping the tears from her eyes, she noticed something white on the ground in front of her. Amiya found herself staring into the shiny black eyes of Snowymallow, the small stitched smile seeming to taunt her. Seeing the bear, Amiya scooped it up and broke down crying. Hugging the bear tight as she sobbed, she didn't notice Sans appear out of thin air beside her...

_**REMAIN DEDICTATED** _

_**REMAIN DEDICATED** _

_**REMAIN...** _

_**REMAIN...** _

_**...** _

* * *

Papyrus strode through Waterfall, carefully brushing aside a few flowers. While he had spotted and shooed a few monsters that were lacking a pass that allowed them out past curfew, he had still been unable to find Emily.

As the skeleton turned a corner, he bumped into a metal figure standing in the middle of the path. _"I APOLOGIZE! I DID NOT MEAN-UNDYNE!"_ Papyrus hugged the fish warrior as she turned around to face him, hugging her tight.

Undyne lifted the cover on her helmet and gave him a smile. "Hey Papyrus! How're you doing, punk? What're you doing out after curfew?"

_"THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS DOING QUITE WELL, THANK YOU! AND I AM SEARCHING FOR A FRIEND! THEY RAN OFF AND I CAN'T FIND THEM!"_

Undyne's grin grew a bit wider as she looked at him curiously. "A friend? Wow, Papyrus, that's awesome! Who's your friend?"

_"A VERY INTERESTING MONSTER!"_ Papyrus stated, fiddling with the end of his scarf. One of his tells. Undyne new immediately that the tall skeleton was lying.

"Come on, Papyrus! What if I want to go meet them?"

_"I APOLOGIZE, UNDYNE! BUT SANS HAD ME MAKE A PROMISE TO NOT SAY ANYTHING!"_ Papyrus replied nervously. _"AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FRIEND, SANS WILL NOT ALLOW IT! AND EVEN IF I COULD, MY FRIEND HAS GONE MISSING!"_

Undyne realized then that he was searching for the human she had just... Found. "Sorry, Papyrus. I haven't see them anywhere! I'd love to help, but I have to patrol!"

_"IT IS ALRIGHT, UNDYNE! I KNOW YOU ARE VERY BUSY NOW THAT YOU ARE RULING THE UNDERGROUND! AFTER ALL, YOU HAD TO CANCEL OUT TRAINING SESSIONS AFTERWARD!"_

Undyne rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah. Tell you what!" She reached out, slapping the skeleton on the shoulder. The force of the blow made him stumble, but Papyrus managed to stay standing. "Why don't you come over by the castle tomorrow? We can do a training session then!"

_"REALLY? WOWIE! THAT WOULD BE AMAZING, UNDYNE! I WOULD LOVE TO DO SO!"_ Papyrus stated happily.

Undyne grinned, wrapping her arm around his neck and giving him a noogie despite the skeleton's protests. "Yeah! I'll see you then, Papyrus!" She says after releasing him.

_"SEE YOU TOMORROW, UNDYNE!"_ Papyrus says happily, then hurries on.

Undyne watched him go, her smile fading into a frown. Of course Sans was the one who pushed Papyrus into not telling her. Her fins flicked back on her head as she brought the faceplate back down on her helmet, turning and starting to walk where Papyrus had just come. The shorter skeleton had to watch his step, otherwise what little patience she had for him would soon be gone.


	16. Chapter 13: Confrontation

Sans had regretted what he said the moment it'd left his mouth. Telling Amiya about Emily wasn't something he had intended to do. He hadn't expected Amiya to try and run off into danger after what he'd told her, though he probably should've expected it due to her _DEDICATION_ to protect Emily. After watching the human cry for a couple of minutes, the skeleton sat down on a rock beside her. It wasn't long before Amiya sat up, clutching the bear to her chest as she coughed.

Amiya winced, a pain stabbing her chest with the cough. Sitting up straight, the teenager stared down at the bear after she tugged the wand out of her sweatshirt pocket. "... What am I supposed to do...?" She said softly as her breathing began to settle, her gaze not looking up from the toys she held in her hand. It wasn't worth trying to return home... What was the point? She missed her parents, yes... But she'd mostly wanted to get Emily home. Protect her in the strange world they'd landed in.

_And she'd failed._

Sans glanced at her, his hands folded over his lap instead of in his sweatshirt pockets. He'd remained quiet during her episode, not saying anything as he'd watched her. If it was anyone but Papyrus, he wasn't very comfortable with dealing with people's feelings. **"heh. i can't really give ya an answer t' that, kid."** Which was true. He didn't know what she was going though, what she was feeling. But, if anything... He knew how he'd feel if he lost Papyrus, his little brother was the only family he had now. **"i can't know what you're goin' through. or how it feels. so it's worthless sayin' that."** He added with a slight shrug. **"but i doubt emily would've want t' see ya like this."**

"Wh-What?"

 **"i mean, she was a pretty cheerful human. if she could see ya crying... i doubt she'd be happy about that."** Sans stood up, his fingers clicking together as he snapped. Amiya started as her Soul was tugged out of her chest, turning a blue color. With a tug, Sans had the surprised human on her feet. **"the only thing ya can do is continue on. i have no doubt she'd want ya t' keep goin'."** _If she could've understood the situation, anyway._ Sans added to himself as Amiya glanced at him in surprise.

The teen took a deep, shaky breath. She didn't feel any better, or the least bit comforted... But she supposed Sans was right, in a way. Emily had hated anyone being sad... Including her. "... I suppose..."

 **"good."** Sans checked Amiya's stats and mentally sighed. Her DEF had dropped, her _DEDICATION_ loss having caused it to drop about three points. Tucking his right hand into his pocket, Sans reached down and picked up the cap by the visor. Giving it a good shake, he placed it sideways on Amiya's head. **"here, kid. you're gonna need this."**

After tightening her grip on Snowymallow for a second, Amiya tucked the bear into the hoodie pocket with the fairy want. She then reached up, fixing the cap so it was sitting correctly on her head. Taking another deep breath, Amiya gave a slight nod. "O-Okay, I think I can-" Several loud clanking sounds interrupted her, footsteps that were coming nearer.

Sans started, turning his skull in that direction. **"shit. kid. you're gonna have t' run."**

"What?"

 **"head back the way we came. duck into a corridor. most of the side paths here lead back to the main path. ya shouldn't get lost."** Sans ordered, the white lights in his eyesockets darting quickly to her. He'd already broken half of his promise to Toriel, he didn't want to break that promise completely.

Despite being somewhat confused, Amiya took several steps back before turning and hurrying off at a jog; hopefully, the slower pace would keep her breathing trouble from acting up so quickly. When she was out of sight, Sans turned to face the armored figure as they stepped around a corner. He relaxed his stance, shifting his weight to one foot as he gave them a lazy grin. **"heya."**

* * *

Amiya turned into the nearest corridor, leaning against the wall for a second when she was a few steps in. She had failed in protecting Emily from the dangers of the underground they had fallen in, why should she have run? Why should she have a choice to live when that chance had been ripped away from her sister? With a sigh, Amiya straightened up and started on down the long hallway. She wasn't sure how much she could trust Sans now. Though he'd helped them out a bit, that had been only with Papyrus around. Then he had tried to keep what had happened Emily a secret. And even worse... How could she explain what happened to her parents?

Amiya's thought process was interrupted when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something gray that interrupted the white and different shades of blue on the walls of the cavern. Starting, then human turned toward what she'd spotted. It was a gray door, looking out of place in the wall. After hesitating a moment, Amiya walked over to it. Stopping in front of the door, she started reaching for the door handle...

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?" Undyne snapped, raising the face mask on her helmet.

 **"what are ya talkin' about? i have a red pass. i'm allowed t' be out after curfew."** Sans replied with a light shrug.

"Yeah, back in S _NOWDIN._ What do you think you're doing in Waterfall?" Undyne countered.

 **"well, i have a station at the beginning of waterfall. plus i was escorting paps through here. the riverperson wasn't docked."** The skeleton replied with a lazy shrug.

"Papyrus could've walked through here on his own you traitor, he's done it before."

**"hey. no need t' throw insults around. i know ya got a bone t' pick with me. but that doesn't mean ya have t' insult me. i haven't done anything traitorous that you can prove."**

Undyne's eyes narrowed. "You're lucky I don't have you transferred over to the Capitol in handcuffs! I can easily pair Papyrus with a different partner."

 **"like who?"** Sans asked. **"the dogs like him, but i doubt they'd be able t' work with him full-time. 'sides..."** With a dark grin, Sans's eyesockets turned pitch black. **"You don't want Papyrus working with you, right?"**

Undyne scowled, a spear appearing in her hand as she twirled it. As much as she hated to admit it, Sans was right. There wasn't a partner in the Royal Guard that could work with Papyrus very well, despite his friendly nature. And Papyrus working with her was not an option, he had too big of a heart to do what she did. Giving Sans a dirty look, Undyne released the spear she was holding. With a wave of her hand, the spear flew into the wall and shattered into a bit of magic dust. Sans, the white lights reappearing in his eyesockets, looked up at her. "Just stay out of my way." Undyne ordered, stepping around Sans and continuing on.

Sans watched her walk on. **"hopefully the kid got far enough ahead."** He grumbled to himself, starting forward. If Amiya had taken the path he told her to take, he knew where it would come out.


	17. Interlude: Musings of an Empress

Things never really turned out like you planned, didn't they? When Undyne had confronted the human in Waterfall, she'd expected them to kill her. She'd seen them do it before, not sparing some monsters any mercy... Like the poor dog couple in Snowdin, and a few on their way to where she confronted them. After the human had spared her, she locked herself in her house for a time. Undyne couldn't understand why they had spared _her_ when they had killed others. When Papyrus had arrived for his training, she couldn't even open the door to let him in. She had refused to leave the house.

That was why she blamed herself for Asgore's death. If she had been there, guarding him like she should have... Maybe he wouldn't be gone.

When the queen returned, her decision to treat all humans that fell was a slap in the face to not only Asgore, but the rest of the monsters the human had turned to dust. In anger, Undyne rose up with a rebellion behind her. It had not been too difficult to defeat the queen, she did not fight back as much as Undyne had hoped. Though disappointed, Undyne accepted it and threw the queen out of the castle with the decree that she was banned from returning as ruler.

Then Undyne herself took over.

Her first decision for the Underground, other than banishing the traitorous queen to the Ruins, was expand the Royal Guard. She enlisted more monsters into the guard, and ordered that all citizens of the Underground would learn to recognize a human when they saw one. Afterwards, she set up a curfew. Though several citizens were quite upset, mostly business owners, they did not protest when Undyne stated that the curfew was to keep them safe from any human that could fall in that time. Her decision that required every monster in the Underground had to understand what a human looked like was desperately needed, as the knowledge was only barely known throughout the Royal Guard under Asgore's rule.

Alphys remained head scientist for Undyne, though Alphys typically worked on modifying the Royal Guard's armor or monitoring the expansive network of cameras in the Underground. And, although with great reluctance, Undyne allowed Mettaton's show to continue. Though she wasn't fond of Mettaton, he did do quite well in keeping the monster's spirits up.

And then there was Papyrus.

Unfortunately, when her work as Empress began, she was unable to train with Papyrus as they had before. And, eventually, the training sessions were cancelled. Though he was still working on his goal to become a member of the Guard, Undyne had promoted him to a Honorary Sentry status, and even made sure Papyrus had his own sentry station built instead of the cardboard box he had previously used. His training now occurred every so often, with either Doggo or another Snowdin dog training him at least once every one to two weeks.

And after the first human was killed, Undyne made sure she saw less and less of Papyrus. The skeleton was strong, but he was also too innocent, too kind, and had too big of a Soul. She did not want to change the way he was. Though Sans was doing a very good job of that already.

Sans... She had never really liked Papyrus's older brother. She would have fired him from sentry duty a long time ago if she had been able to. But he always managed to scrape by with his work, so she was never given the opportunity. Sans had Papyrus visit the exiled queen with him nearly every day, and the two would often be in there for several hours. And Sans was the one having Papyrus lie to her. Papyrus had always told her everything, no matter how small or insignificant it could've been. But before Undyne had reaped the Soul of the first human that fell since Asgore's death, Papyrus had started becoming secretive. Whenever she would try asking him about being seen with a human by his side, the skeleton would deny it as he fiddled with his scarf in his gloved hands. Undyne had quickly learned that was one of his tells, and used it to her advantage when asking Papyrus questions by trying to switch between several subjects. Unfortunately, Papyrus was quite a bit difficult to confuse or didn't often make slip-ups to reveal any information. The smaller skeleton was quickly getting on Undyne's nerves quite a bit...

But she couldn't touch him. She could not hurt him, or charge him with any sort of treason, as it would hurt Papyrus. The same reason why she did not wish Papyrus to work with her as a partner, like most Royal Guard groups. The skeleton was strong, but he could not cause anyone any harm. When they had fought for the first time after Papyrus requested to train, he'd _knocked her down._ Something that had taken her months to do while training with Asgore, their skill level with magic similar because of this training, had only taken him less than ten minutes. She had thought about allowing Papyrus to join for a second, but Papyrus then paused the fight to try and help her up. That was when she knew he couldn't be in the Royal Guard as anything other than a sentry, he was too kind to send into battle.

What Sans was doing was unacceptable. Soon, he was going to do something to cross the line and make Undyne snap. And at that time, even Papyrus won't be able to protect the good-for-nothing skeleton.


	18. Chapter 14: Knob-Blocked

Amiya's fingers didn't have a chance to brush the doorknob before the world around her turned black and white, her fingers hitting an invisible wall. Starting, the sixteen-year-old spun around. A couple feet away from her stood a monster that came up to her waist, looking somewhat like an odd turtle. Where the shell would be was an odd glass dome, with a rubber duck-type thing floating in a bit of water. The monster hopped in place, something white fluttering from its' mouth to the ground as its' tail moved in a cranking motion.

"Wosh u hand!" The monster exclaimed to her, making Amiya blink. She reached out, pressing the _ACT_ button and hit 'Check'.

_Woshua: 7 ATK, 1 DEF. This humble germophobe seeks to cleanse the whole world._

Amiya raised her hand as white water droplet-shaped bullets started swirling around her Soul, wincing when one brushed the hot pink heart. **23/25** The teen quickly thought of the other three options that had been in the _ACT_ button as the Woshua's turn ended. The monster looked at her expectantly, shuffling a step to the side. Joke, terrorize... Clean. The monster was a germophobe.

 _Clean._ "I'd like to be cleaned, is that alright?" Amiya asked the Woshua.

The monster's eyes lit up immediately, and it began to hop in a small circle. "Clean! Green means clean!"

The swirling water attack began again, Amiya watching the water being to move. As she watched, a green one came out from the center instead of an entirely white series of water droplets. She moved her hand, aiming her Soul for it. **24/25** After the Woshua's turn ended, Amiya spared the monster. She watched as the monster picked up the thing that had fallen as the world faded back into color, then turn and hop the way Amiya had come. The teen then turned, facing the wall to open the door... But it was gone. The human blinked, staring at the wall. Hadn't there...?

Amiya sighed, taking a step back and putting her head in her hands. She must be going crazy, right? She must have been hallucinating or something. Raising her head, she looked at the wall again. Still no door. With a shake of her head, Amiya sighed and tucked her hands into her pockets, heading on in the direction she needed to go. Losing Emily... It must've made her go crazy or something, if there was no door there in the first place. It felt like nearly an hour had passed before Amiya made it through the doorway of the hallway and back out into the open cavern, though it was most likely closer to fifteen minutes of walking. The human gazed around when she was out of the hallway. The scenery was very much the same, with more Echo Flowers scattered around the islands.

 **"heya."** The voice from behind her made Amiya jump, spinning around. Sans was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets. **"ya made it through. what took you so long?"**

"I... Thought I saw something and wanted to investigate. It was nothing." Amiya replied, turning around as Sans stood up straight, walking in-step next to her.

**"ya sure? you seem-"**

"Yes, I'm sure." Amiya stated, digging her hands further into her pockets and lightly stroking Snowymallow's head.

Sans glanced at her, then shrugged. **"if you say so. paps is waitin' ahead of us. so we better hurry."**

The human nodded in response, but said nothing. The duo walked for ten minutes in silence, the gentle sound of rushing water and the soft whispers from the Echo Flowers being the only sounds that could be heard. Soon, Papyrus could be seen ahead of them.

The skeleton was by the edge of the water, another patch of land leading into a walled area of the cavern about four feet away from the other, a path a few feet ahead to the left of the skeleton led to another walled area. By the skeleton's feet was a small bird about three feet tall, fluttering it's wings as it stood beside him.

 _"THERE YOU TWO ARE, YOU LAZYBONESES! IT SEEMS YOU HAVE SOMEONE RIVALING YOU IN LAZINESS, SANS!"_ Papyrus stated when they were a few feet away.

 **"heh, yup. it sure seems so, pap."** Sans replied with a light chuckle.

Papyrus nodded, then turned to Amiya. _"I AM ABLE TO CROSS THIS GAP EASILY! SANS... SOMEHOW MAKES HIS WAY OVER IT."_ Papyrus glanced down at Sans for a minute, then continues. _"HOWEVER, YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CROSS THIS GAP AS EASILY! AS SUCH, I HAVE REQUESTED HELP FROM THIS BIRD!"_

Amiya looked down at the bird. It made a sound that seemed to be a mixture of a chirp and a quack, ruffling its' feathers again. The bird only came up to her knee. "Are you sure...?"

 _"I AM QUITE POSITIVE! IT WAS ABLE TO CARRY A FRIEND OF MINE ACROSS THE GAP!"_ Papyrus stated.

"Alright..." Amiya said hesitantly. The bird repeated its' odd sound as it took off, hovering at the height of her head. After a moment's hesitation, Amiya reached out and carefully wrapped her hand around its leg... Only to tighten her grasp and let out a soft surprised sound as the bird lifted her off the ground. She looked at the ground as the bird flew, only lifting her about five feet off the ground before starting across the gap. After ten minutes, Amiya's feet touched the ground again. The human let go of the bird's leg, watching it land by her feet. "... Thank you." She says, still somewhat surprised. The bird repeated it's sound.

 _"UNDYNE HAS TOLD ME PLENTY OF TIMES TO CHERISH THIS BIRD BECAUSE IT NEVER GIVES UP!"_ Papyrus stated happily as he stepped over the gap. _"WILL YOU CHERISH IT?"_

Amiya glanced down at the bird. "... Maybe."

 _"I WILL TAKE THAT AS A YES!"_ Papyrus exclaimed, then turned and caught sight of Sans starting down the other path. _"SANS! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"_

 **"i'll meet you up ahead, pap."** Sans replied, then vanished into the walled area.

Papyrus sighed, shaking his skull. _"HE ALWAYS DOES THAT! WELL... AT LEAST I KNOW HE WILL BE UP AHEAD. COME ON, AMIYA THE HUMAN!"_ The skeleton turned, starting into the walled section. Amiya glanced down the way Sans had gone, then followed Papyrus. They came out of the hallway into a large room, a small pool of water in the center. Three hallways led out of the north side of the room, heading elsewhere. There was also a hallway leading further in from the cavern ahead of the duo, as well as a hallway in the center of the south wall. Sans was just stepping out of that hallway, and Papyrus headed toward him.

_"THERE YOU ARE, SANS! WHY ARE YOU COMING FROM THE GARBAGE DUMP?"_

**"i dunno, pap. i guess i was a bit down in the dumps and felt a visit was necessary."** Sans replied with a lazy grin. Amiya let out a soft snicker.

 _"SANS, THAT WAS BAD EVEN FOR YOUR STANDARDS! AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE ANY!"_ Papyrus stated with a groan, making Sans chuckle.

 **"i suppose i'm just a bit trashy today. nothing wrong with that."** Sans said, grinning more. Papyrus shook his skull.

 _"SANS! NO MORE TRASH PUNS!"_ Papyrus says, stomping a foot.

**"sorry, pap. i _can_ not promise-"**

"HEY!"


	19. Chapter 15: Another Confrontation

The trio all spun to face the new voice. Undyne was standing where they had just come from, a blue spear in her hand. Sans's eyesockets widened, and Amiya took a small step back behind the two skeletons.

 _"OH, HELLO UNDYNE! HOW DID YOU GET HERE SO FAST?"_ Papyrus asked.

Undyne...  _This_  was the monster that had killed Emily...

"Fue hue, I figured he'd get the human to turn back." Undyne glared at Sans, then took a step toward them. "Listen, Papyrus-"

 **"don't listen t' her, pap."** Sans warned. Glancing back at Amiya he added,  **"kid, run."**

Amiya glanced between he and Undyne for a moment, then spun around without an argument and bolted toward the other corridor.

"YOU LITTLE-" Undyne sighed, closing her good eye. Opening it, she watched Amiya disappear into the other corridor before looking back at Papyrus. "Listen to me, Papyrus. That human is a threat to the Underground, regardless of whether they were kind to you or not-"

 _"BUT UNDYNE, THEY ARE MY FRIEND! THEY HAVEN'T HURT ANYONE!"_ Papyrus protested.

"I know, Papyrus. But your friend is a human, and humans are dangerous to monsters. If push comes to shove, they'll-"

 _"SHE WILL NOT HURT ANYONE! AMIYA WILL NOT HURT ANY MONSTERS FOR NO GOOD REASON!"_ The taller skeleton stated firmly, stomping his foot to help drive in his point.  _"NO ONE WOULD HURT ANYONE FOR NO REASON!"_

"Papyrus-"

 **"pal. if ya know what's good for you, you'll get outta here now."** Sans said, taking a step toward Undyne.  **"we'll make sure ya never-"**

"That's ENOUGH, you little TRAITOR!" Undyne snapped, a spear forming beside her as he hand shot up and grabbed it, throwing at Sans in her annoyance. The smaller skeleton's eyesockets widened, though was unable to react as Papyrus pushed him to the side.

 _"NYEH!"_ The spear hit Papyrus's spine, turning to a small bit of dust as Undyne's visible eye widened.

_**630/680 HP** _

"P-Papyrus, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Undyne broke off as Papyrus straightened up. A series of blue intersecting bones surrounded Undyne, entrapping her.

 _"IT IS ALRIGHT, UNDYNE. I AM NOT MAD... BUT I CAN NOT ALLOW YOU TO HURT AMYIA."_ The skeleton said firmly, his voice sounding somewhat said. Before Undyne could respond, the taller skeleton scooped Sans into his arms before turning and bolting the way Amiya had run.

"PAPYRUS!"

As Papyrus ran, he shifted Sans from his arms to his shoulders.

The smaller skeleton wrapped his arms around Papyrus's neck tightly, his legs wrapping around the taller skeleton's spine.  **"p-pap, how did you-"**

 _"THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT NOW, SANS! WE NEED TO GET AMIYA TO SAFETY BEFORE MY MAGIC WEARS OFF!"_ Papyrus stated, picking up his pace now that Sans was secure on his back. It didn't take long for them Amiya, the teen having been forced to stop after a turn further down in the corridor. She was leaning against the wall, coughing between her heavy breathing.

"AAH!" Amiya started, nearly choking as Papyrus scooped her into his arms. Despite his arms being made of bone, being carried by the skeleton was not as uncomfortable as one would think. "Wh-What?"

 _"DO NOT FRET, AMIYA! WE WILL HIDE FROM UNDYNE FOR A BIT TO ALLOW HER A CHANCE TO SETTLE DOWN!"_ Papyrus stated to her, quickly darting up a flight of stairs in the wall.

 **"pap! do you know where you're going?"** Sans asked, clinging tighter to his brother.

 _"NO, I DON'T! BUT ALL ROADS WILL HAVE TO LEAD TO NEW HOME EVENTUALLY!"_ Papyrus responded, continuing to run.

After running up another flight of stairs further on, Papyrus finally came to a stop by a patch of grass near a gently cascading waterfall. Despite being the same kind of grass as the grass patches on the first level of Waterfall, the patch Papyrus had come to was only half the size of them. Due to not having access to the extra water on the first level, the grass was unable to grow as well.

Papyrus placed Amiya down, the teen steadying herself as the taller skeleton helped Sans to the ground next.

"Wh-Where?" Amiya started, looking out toward the waterfall. The hallway they were in ended open, giving off the view of the waterfall as well as the hallway continuing on the other side of the waterfall.

 _"I REALLY DO NOT KNOW, BUT WE WILL BE ABLE TO FIND OUR WAY BACK EASILY!"_ Papyrus assured her as Sans shifted to stand in a comfortable position. The taller skeleton put a hand on the teen's shoulder, giving her a gentle push toward the grass.  _"WELL, AMIYA, I DO SUGGEST TRYING TO GET SOME REST! WE WILL BE STAYING HERE FOR A BIT!"_

Amiya looked up at him, doubting she'd be able to rest. Regardless, she carefully stepped into the grass and lay down on her back. The grass was just tall enough to conceal her, though Amiya could still see the glowing crystals scattered on the ceiling of the hallway. The human rolled over onto her side, pulling Snowymallow out of the sweatshirt pocket before hugging it tight to her chest.

Despite her doubt of being able to sleep, the girl dozed off quickly with the teddy bear tucked to her chest...

Sans watched Amiya until her was certain she was asleep, then spun to face Papyrus.  **"pap. how did you know-?"**

Papyrus let out a faint sigh, rubbing his arm.  _"I DIDN'T... NOT AT FIRST."_ The taller skeleton turned, looking out at the waterfall.  _"THE LAST HUMAN THAT HAD FALLEN, BEFORE AMIYA AND EMILY FELL... I SAW UNDYNE TAKE THEIR SOUL."_

**"papyrus, you weren't supposed t'-"**

_"SEE THAT, I KNOW SANS. DESPITE KNOWING THIS, I DID NOT WANT TO BELIEVE UNDYNE WOULD HARM THE HUMAN FOR NO REASON. MAYBE THEY HAD THREATENED HER IN SOME SHAPE OR FORM? WAS THERE A VALID REASON FOR HER ATTACKING THE HUMAN, DESPITE THE FACT SHE SHOULD NOT DO SO? BUT NOW, AFTER WHAT I HAD SEEN... I CAN NOT TRY AND LIE TO MYSELF ANY LONGER."_

**"pap..."**  Sans started weakly.

 _"UNDYNE IS HURTING THE HUMANS BECAUSE SHE IS AFRAID AFTER WHAT THAT ONE HUMAN HAD DONE. IF I CAN TALK UNDYNE OUT OF IT, AND GET HER TO TRUST AMIYA, MAYBE ALL OF THIS WILL STOP."_ Papyrus straightened, lightly patting Sans on the shoulder before turning and heading back down the way they had come.  _"I WILL BE BACK LATER, SANS! IF AMIYA WAKES UP, LEAD HER BACK TO THE MAIN WATERFALL PATH!"_

 **"papyrus!"** Sans exclaimed, trying to grab at him. Papyrus side-stepped, picking up the pace.

 _"I WILL SEE YOU FURTHER ON, BROTHER!"_ He tells Sans cheerfully for a moment, then disappeared around a corner.

Sans remained standing in the middle of the hallway for a moment, his outstretched hand still reaching to someone who no longer was standing there. After a moment, the skeleton sighed sadly and tucked his hand back into his pocket. He sat down at the edge of the hallway, dangling his feet over the gap to wait. Good thing it was something he was good at.


	20. Chapter 16: Taking a Stand

An odd, still calm had settled over the Underground. The sound of rushing water, and the gentle whispers of Echo Flowers promising a new life on the surface echoed through the air, the only sounds that could be heard. Even animals, trapped by the barrier, had settled down for rest. Most Monsters had retreated home hours before, the long 'day' having come to an end.

The only movement came from a figure coming to a standstill on a bridge, the slight movement causing his scarf to swish slightly. The skeleton stood still in the center of the bridge, closing his eyesockets and taking in a faint 'breath' of air to calm himself. Papyrus straightened his back, opening his eyesockets as his stance firmed... He would not be moved from this spot easily.

The skeleton didn't wait for too long before he had company. The armored figure stepped around a corner, pausing momentarily in surprise at the sight of him.

 _"HELLO UNDYNE."_ Papyrus said as she walked toward him, stopping several feet away.

"Papyrus..."

 _"I KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE HUMANS, UNDYNE, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALL OUT TO HURT ANYONE! AMIYA WON'T-"_ Papyrus exclaimed, trying to jump right into what he wanted to discuss.

"Papyrus!" Undyne interrupted. Papyrus went silent, startled at the firm tone in her voice. Undyne sighed, her hands curling into fists. "I'm sorry, Papyrus. I didn't mean to say it like that. I know you believe Amiya is your friend, but you can't... You shouldn't."

 _"BUT SHE WON'T HURT ANYONE! SHE HASN'T HURT ANYONE, SHE WON'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"_ Papyrus stated.

"Yet. She hasn't hurt anyone YET. Human are bad, Papyrus, even if you don't believe it!" Undyne replied, trying to hold back a bit of anger. "They're willing to hurt Monsters for no reason!"

 _"I KNOW THE HUMAN IN THE BLUE AND PURPLE SHIRT DID BAD THINGS, THAT'S WHAT CAUSED THIS! BUT YOU CAN'T JUDGE ALL HUMANS BASED ON ONE HUMAN! THERE COULD BE PLENTY OF HUMANS THAT WOULDN'T HURT MONSTERS-!"_ Papyrus was cut off as Undyne formed a spear, tensing up when she raised it before gaining her senses and lowering it again.

Undyne took a breath, trying to calm herself before stepping closer to him. "Listen, Papyrus. I'm doing what needs to be done. The human HAS to die. It's the only way to make sure Monsters stay safe. And we could use the Souls to get to the surface. We just need three Souls, then we can head to the surface-"

 _"NO. THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY!"_ Papyrus stated firmly.

"Papyrus, I don't want to hurt you. Just step to the side and let me walk past. It'll be easier." Undyne said firmly, moving closer to him.

Papyrus straightened up further, a bone forming in his hand.  _"... I AM SORRY, UNDYNE. BUT I CAN'T ALLOW YOU TO CONTINUE WITH YOUR PLAN TO HURT AMIYA."_

Undyne sighed, her grip tightening on her spear. "... Well, fine." She raised her spear, swiping it through the air. Papyrus hopped back, avoiding it and summoning several bones, all white. With a moment of hesitation, he sent them toward her. Because of his hesitation, Undyne was easily able to turn them to dust with hear spear, stepping toward Papyrus again.

Papyrus wasn't fast enough to bring up his bone as a spear came toward him, hitting his arm.  _ **570/**_ _ **680 HP.** "NYEH!" _Papyrus raised the bone he held, warding off the remaining onslaught of spears with it. When it was his turn, he sent a barrage of blue and white bones at Undyne, the other Monster dodging almost all but one bone.

Undyne winced as the bone hit her chest. _ **1955/1957** **HP.**_

The fight didn't last for long, both opponents easily evading the others' attacks. It was almost like a dance. They had trained for so long, they knew each other's moves by heart and were able to deflect nearly every hit.

 _ **220/680 HP.**_ Papyrus straightened up, his arms trembling faintly.  _"UNDYNE... I DO NOT WISH TO FIGHT YOU ANYMORE. PLEASE, LET AMIYA BE! SHE WON'T DO ANYTHING!"_

 ** _1937/1957 HP._** Undyne curled her hand around her spear, struggling to hold back built-up anger. "Listen to me, Papyrus! The human can't be trusted! Humans will gladly hurt Monsters for no reason! That's why I'm trying to get to them before they hurt anyone!"

_"BUT AMIYA IS DIFFERENT! SHE WON'T HURT ANY-!"_

"ENOUGH!" Undyne's anger snapped, flinging her spear at Papyrus. The skeleton's eyesockets widened and he tried to sidestep... But it was too late.

 _ **-300; 0/680 HP.**_  Papyrus took a step back as Undyne's eyes widened in horror, running to him. "Papyrus, Papyrus I'm sorry!"

 _"N-NYEH... NYEH HEH..."_ Papyrus looked at Undyne as she knelt in front of him, placing a trembling hand on his shoulder.  _"IT'S... IT'S ALRIGHT... UNDYNE..."_  He gave her a weak smile, then closed his eyesockets.  _"I... I FORGIVE YOU..."_

Undyne watched in silent horror as Papyrus began to crumble to dust... And soon, there was nothing left of her friend but a dust-covered scarf and a slightly dented 'battle body'.

_***500 EXP GAINED; UNDYNE'S LV INCREASED!** _

Undyne's trembling stopped, and she shook her head as the guilt she felt lessened. "Sorry, Papyrus. But it... It had to be done. I need to protect the rest of the Underground." Undyne picked up the 'battle body' and scarf, crossing the bridge and walking deeper into Waterfall.

* * *

_"LOVE stands for "Level of Violence." A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others..."_


	21. Chapter 17: A Brief Stance for Justice

Sans had drifted off, his elbows propped on his knees as his skull rested in his hands. The sound of his cell phone ringing made the skeleton start, managing to keep his balance and shift back from the edge before he fell off the path. Standing up, Sans slipped the phone out of his pocket and glanced at the number. It was Papyrus. His Soul soared, and Sans quickly answered the call.  **"papyrus!"**

"Sans." Undyne's voice was clipped, an unnerving coolness in her tone.

 **"where's papyrus?"**  The skeleton's body turned cold, the feeling of relief he'd had a moment before numbing into dread.

"You are needed at the castle. Get here as soon as possible." With that, the call was ended.

Sans stared at the silent cell phone, the feeling of dread becoming worse. He remained standing there for a few seconds before disconnecting his side of the call and tucking it into his pocket. Taking a few steps over to the patch of grass, Sans looked down to check on Amiya. Seeing she was still asleep, he figured she'd still sleep for a while yet. Taking a shaky 'breath' to calm himself, Waterfall vanished around him before being replaced with the doorway leading to the castle hallway. Stepping completely out of the shortcut, Sans glanced back down the hall illuminated with golden light as a voice seemed to echo through it.

**_"now... it's time to begin your judgement. look inside yourself... have you really done the right thing?"_ **

Shaking off the memory, Sans turned and walked through the doorway. He shuffled down the gray hallway leading to the throne room, each muted step sending more dread into his Soul. All too soon, the doorway to the throne room loomed over the short skeleton. Composing himself, Sans took a step inside.

Undyne was standing by the windows, her hands folded in front of her, out of sight. The sight of her recalled a memory of Sans's, an echo of a fallen king gazing forlornly at his kingdom... Forcing himself back to the present, he straightened.  **"Where's Papyrus?"**

Undyne turned to face him, her face impassive. Papyrus's scarf lay limp in her hands, dangling where it wasn't supported by her grip.

Sans's Soul dropped, his body feeling numb as his fear was confirmed.  **"n-no! papyrus! What did you do?!"**

Undyne stepped forward as Sans held out his hands, dropping the scarf in them. The skeleton gripped it tight, his eyesockets turning completely black when it landed and he gazed down at it. "We fought. He was persistent, and I lost my temper." The Empress turned, walking back over to the window and gazing out it again. "You have a half hour to turn over the human... Or find somewhere to hide it. There will be no more games-" Undyne was cut off as an upside-down Blue Soul appeared over her chest and she was sent flying across the room. She slammed into the wall, a cracking sound ringing out when she hit.

 _***1956/2007 HP  
** _ **_*1955/2007 HP  
_ ** __***1954/2007 HP**

Sans had taken an offensive stance, his right eyesocket still remaining pitch black. His left eyesocket glowed, flickering between blue and yellow before finally settling on yellow... The skeleton had run out of patience.

 _***1953/2007 HP** _  
_***1952/2007 HP** _  
_***1951/2007 HP** _

"SANS!" Undyne roared, raising her arm as she formed a spear, hurling the weapon at him. A bone shot up from the floor and hit the spear, shattering both weapons into dust.

 _***1950/2007 HP** _  
_***1949/2007 HP** _  
_***1948/2007 HP** _

Sans used his magic to pull Undyne off the wall before hurling her into another, the thud she made barely audible over the sound of the cracking wall.

 **_*1947/2007 HP_ **  
**_*1946/2007 HP_ **  
**_*1945/2007 HP_ **

Blue circles appeared around Sans's feet, but a quick shift backwards allowed the skeleton to dodge as a series of spears shot up from the ground. Sans sidestepped as several more circles appeared, following him with each step he took.

 _***1944/2007 HP** _  
_***1943/2007 HP** _  
_***1942/2007 HP** _

The spears stopped when Sans yanked Undyne from the wall, raising her higher into the air before slamming her into the ground.

 _***1941/2007 HP** _  
_***1940/2007 HP** _  
_***1939/2007 HP** _

Sans stalked up to her, his yellow eye glaring down at her.  **"He was your friend. He trusted you."** A series of spears encircled the skeleton, who shortcutted closer to the pinned Empress and safely way from the spears. The spears behind him collided together, turning immediately to dust when they hit.

 _***1938/2007 HP** _  
_***1937/2007 HP** _  
_***1936/2007 HP** _

**"But you betrayed him. He wouldn't hurt you, and you took advantage of that."** Undyne started to raise her hand, preparing to form a spear. Two bones shot out from the floor, intersecting to keep her hand in place.

"Sans! Let. Me. GO!" Undyne demanded, but Sans made no response.

 _***1935/2007 HP** _  
_***1934/2007 HP** _  
_***1933/2007 HP** _

A Blaster formed behind Sans, its mouth opening as it began to charge up. Suddenly, a light breeze seemed to drift through the still throne room as a slight pressure appeared on Sans's shoulder.

 _"BROTHER... PLEASE..."_ The voice was soft and quiet, echoing in the back of Sans's skull. Sans blinked, almost as if he were coming out of a trance, and his gaze settled Undyne. The Blaster stopped charging before disappearing without a trace. His yellow eye steadily gazed at her.

 _***1932/2007 HP** _  
_***1931/2007 HP** _  
_***1930/2007 HP** _

"Let me go NOW, Sans!" Undyne demanded, her voice seething in anger as she glared daggers at the skeleton with her good eye.

Papyrus had given his life for the human. And Sans knew the second he let Undyne go, she was going to go after Amiya. A sudden desire, a sort of... Determination suddenly burned in Sans's Soul for the first in a long time. Something he hadn't even felt when he promised Toriel he'd protect the other fallen humans. He couldn't let Papyrus's sacrifice be in vain.

 **"I'll make sure you _never_  get your hands on her. For Papyrus's sake." **Sans said coldly, lifting Undyne into the air before hurling her across the throne room for the last time. The blue Soul on Undyne's chest disappeared and she managed to flip herself, landing on her knees. She shot to her feet, ready to attack Sans... But the skeleton had disappeared. Realizing she was alone in the throne room, the Empress raced toward the door. Sans wasn't going to get his head start.


	22. Chapter 18: Moving Forward

Alphys looked up in surprise as Undyne charged into the lab, looking up from her computer screen. "Undyne! Wh-What?

"Alphys, I need your help." Undyne cut her off, wanting to get straight to the point. "There is a human in the Underground, and Sans is escorting them through to the Capital."

"A... A human? Why is Sans helping a human?" Alphys asked, sliding off her chair and going over to the camera screen.

Undyne clenched her fist as Alphys began flipping through video feeds. "... Because Papyrus was helping them too."

* * *

Sans stepped out of the shortcut, arriving back at the grass patch in Waterfall. His grip on Papyrus's scarf tightened momentarily as he glanced down at it, the lights in his eyesockets returning back to their normal white pupils. He unzipped his sweatshirt, wrapping the scarf around his neck before zipping the sweatshirt back up, tucking the scarf out of sight underneath. Taking a 'breath', he walked over to the grass patch where Amiya still remained asleep. He knelt down, shaking her gently.  **"hey, kid. time t' get moving."**

Amiya started, bolting awake and shooting into a sitting position. "Em!" Her gaze drifted around, her grip on Snowymallow tightening as her breathing settled, remembering where she was. "Sans?"

Sans stood, the human doing so shortly after. **"we need to get moving. undyne could be coming after us any second."**

Amiya tucked Snowymallow into the hoodie pocket as Sans started walking, following close behind. "Sans... Where's Papyrus?"

Sans was silent for a moment.  **"... he went ahead to talk to undyne. he'll meet us further up. right now, we just need to keep moving."**

Amiya nodded slightly, going silent as she followed Sans down the stairs.

The two walked in near silence, broken from time to time by Amiya coughing. Sans would peek around a corner, watching to make sure a member of the Royal Guard wasn't right around the corner. They ducked into the hallway as the sound of pounding footsteps echoed in front of them. Sans and Amiya tucked into a nearby hallway as the footsteps slowed near their hiding place.

"SANS!" Undyne's enraged call echoed through the hallway. "I know you and the human are here. Hand it over now, and maybe I won't charge you with treason."

Sans took a step closer to Amiya as she choked back back a cough, covering her mouth to muffle the sound.

**"ya need to head back that way a bit, kid. three hallways down, take a right on the fourth hallway. take the boat to hotland. the boat will drop you off by the lab, knock on the door and see if alphys can help you."**

"Three... Four... What?" Amiya started, trying to process the directions as Sans cut her off with a slight push.

 **"get going before she comes over here and finds you."**  Sans turned as Amiya darted down the hallway, touching his hand to the scarf under his sweatshirt. Straightening his shoulders, the skeleton stepped out into the hallway.


	23. Chapter 19: The Final Stand?

"Sans!" Undyne snapped as the skeleton stepped into sight, coming to a stop a few feet away from him. "Where's the human?"

 **"getting as far away from you as she can.** " Sans replied coolly, halting his steps in the center of the hallway, blocking Undyne's path.

Undyne scowled, stepping closer to Sans. The skeleton didn't budge, straightening his shoulders. The action made the Empress hesitate for a brief second before she summoned her spear, settling into a fighting stance.

Sans snapped his fingers, a Blaster appearing behind his skull as a line of bones popped into existence between he and Undyne.

Undyne attacked first, a flurry of spears appearing and flying straight towards Sans. The skeleton sidestepped, using the bones to deflect a majority of the spears, causing the attacks to crumble into dust.

Sans returned the attack, the Blaster disappearing from behind him as he sent a volley of bones toward Undyne, reappearing behind the Empress and charging. Undyne swiped the spear still in her hand to deflect the coming attacks, dodging the Blaster as it fired by ducking toward the wall. The Blaster vanished again as Undyne charged towards Sans, the skeleton stepping backwards and grabbing a hold of her Soul. He lifted the Empress off the ground, hurling her back down the way she had come, refusing to budge from his spot in the hallway.

* * *

Amiya stumbled to her hands and knees as she coughed, her body racking from the effort of running. She leaned forward with her head angled down as she vomited a clear liquid into the dirt, the coughing subsiding a little.

She leaned back onto her legs as she brushed dirt over where she threw up, wiping her hands on her pants before rubbing her eyes with a sleeve. "Ugh..." Amiya groaned, trying to settle her breathing. She wasn't too sure of how far she had run, uncertain if she had passed where Sans wanted her to go or if she had even passed it. She started to stand, freezing midway as she spotted something in the wall ahead of her... The gray door she has spotted ages ago, the one that had vanished after she looked away. She slowly finished getting to her feet, stepping around the center of the hallway as she headed for the door.

Amiya didn't break her stare on the door, not wanting to lose sight of it in case it decided to disappear again. She wrapped her hand around the knob, taking a breath before she turned it, opening the door.

* * *

The fight had only lasted for a few minutes, but felt like it had taken hours. Sans refused to be budged from his spot in the center of the hallway, forcing Undyne stay in the same area to keep her from Amiya.

 ** _*1903/2007 HP._  **"Move, Sans!" Undyne snarled, forming another spear and hurling it toward Sans. "If you let me through, I might not have you charged with treason!"

Sans's 'breathing' had kicked up, a bit of sweat forming on his skull as he sidestepped the coming spear, it just missing his sweatshirt by inches. He took a step back as circles formed under his feet, spears shooting up in front of him before he hurled more bones towards Undyne.  **"I won't let ya lay a hand on her!"**

Undyne scoffed, launching another volley of spears toward the skeleton. "You won't be able to beat me, Sans!"

Sans smirked faintly as he formed a series of bones in front of himself, causing both the spears and bones to disintegrate upon being touched.  **"I didn't have t' beat ya."**  The skeleton stated, grinning. He formed a Blaster in front of him, charging it.  **"I just needed t' distract ya long enough for the kiddo to get away."**

Undyne's eyes widened in realization as she dodged the beam once more. She sent a volley of spears toward the Blaster as it disappeared... Sans vanishing with it. "Damn it!" Undyne roared, slamming her fist into the side of the wall. The wall cracked from the strike, showering a bit of dust onto the Empress before she tore down the hallway.

* * *

Sans stumbled out of the shortcut into a too-familiar area, the secluded patch of Waterfall containing a lone Echo Flower planted close to a bench. Sans leaned on the bench for a brief moment to catch his breath, feeling exhausted as he listened to the sad voice echoing from the nearby flower. He stood straight, closing his eyesockets as he attempted to shortcut to the riverboat... Only to open his eyesockets and realize that he had only shortcutted to the other side of the bench.  **"... fuck."** Sans slumped onto the bench so he could regain his strength, running a hand over his skull.  **"... good luck, kiddo."**


	24. Interlude: Flashback

Frisk's footsteps echoed through the gray halls as they made their way to Asgore, leaving behind the golden light of the Last Corridor. Sans's words echoed in their mind, "maybe it was for self defense...?" Of course he wouldn't know, he couldn't. Some of it had been. Some of it... not so much, they had to admit. Their stomach rumbled as they stopped in front of the doorway that would lead to King Asgore, the human haven't eaten since they left the hotel. Munching on a Glamburger to raise their HP, wincing at the taste, they walked into the throne room.

The room was just as lit as the Last Corridor had been, sunlight streaming through giant windows. Frisk paused for a second, looking around. The ceiling was high above their head, long vines dangling down by the side of the walls. In the middle of the cavernous room stood the throne, sitting in the center of a massive garden. A larger Monster stood in the garden, humming as his arm swung side to side, watering the beautiful golden flowers.

Frisk gulped. ASGORE. Taking a deep breath, the human moved forward, stopping a few feet away from the garden.

The sound of footsteps coming up behind him alerted the king, his humming silencing. "Oh? Is someone there? Give me a moment!" He hummed, his deep voice sounding warm, cheery. "I have almost finished watering these flowers." Asgore swept the watering can over the flowers once more before he put his watering can down beside the throne, turning to face the human. "Here we are! Howdy! How can I-" He broke off, his eyes widening before he composed himself. "... Oh... I so badly want to say, 'Would you like a cup of tea?', but... You know how it is."

Frisk held a bit tighter to the dull knife they had found in New Home, shifting uneasily on their feet.

Asgore let out a faint cough as he moved toward the window, stopping a few feet away with his hands folded behind his back. The silence between the two was tense, broken only by the cheerful sounds of birds that had been trapped behind the barrier. "Nice day today, huh?." The King started, raising his head as he gazed out the window. Sunlight cascaded over his fur, the Boss Monster almost glowing in the light as he struggled to delay the upcoming battle. "Birds are singing, flowers are blooming... Perfect weather for a game of catch."

Frisk remained silent, unsure how to respond as they gave him an uneasy nod.

Asgore gazed out the window a moment longer before he turned to face the human again, who tensed up slightly the moment his gaze met theirs. The King held their gaze for only a moment, then dropped it. "... You know what we must do. When you are ready, come to the next room." He turned, the swishing behind him as the Monster moved toward the next room.

Frisk took a deep breath, steadying themself before they headed forward, glancing over the throne and touching the Save Point before they followed the King's footsteps.

Asgore was waiting for them on the other side of the door, hands hidden behind his back. "How tense..." He murmured, seeing the tension in Frisk's shoulders. "Just think of it like... A visit to the dentist." He reassured them, before moving down the hall toward the next room.

... It wasn't very reassuring to Frisk, they weren't a huge fan of the dentist. They gulped, heading down the short hallway to the next room. Asgore stood by the door, a Save Point glittering next to the doorway.

"Are you ready? If you are not, I understand. I am not ready either." Asgore murmured, walking into the room.

Frisk stepped up to the doorway, brushing their fingers over the Save Point. Taking a deep breath, Frisk stepped into the room. They had to shield their eyes from a sudden brightness, waiting for their eyes to adjust before they widened in surprise. They had come to a part of the cavern outside of the back of the castle, what looked like a dull-gray screen was stretched over the cavern entrance, blocking them off from the outside world.

Asgore was standing with his back toward them, his gaze looking up at the barrier. "This is the barrier. This is what keeps us all trapped underground. If... If by chance you have any unfinished business... Please do what you must."

Frisk straightened their back, curling their hands into fists. "I'm... I'm ready..."

Asgore was silent a moment, his head shifting down just slightly, a blink and you'll miss it move. "... I see..." He raised his head again, straightening his shoulders. "This is it then." The King turned, dropping his gaze to look down at the child standing before him. There was a click as panels opened on the floor, canisters rising that contained the previously gathered Souls. Six were already filled... The one only a few feet from Frisk was empty. "Ready?" Frisk couldn't respond before the world around them faded to black and white once more, Asgore having initiated a battle. Asgore refused to look them in the eyes, his gaze downcast. "Human... It was nice to meet you. Goodbye."

It was a swift move, the red trident sweeping out from under the cape and plunging in their direction. Frisk lept back... But they were not the target. The trident struck their MERCY button, shattering it to pieces.

*Asgore attacks!

The battle had begun. Frisk desperately tried to talk to Asgore within their first few turns, asking for him not to fight, begging for him to stop until his ATK and DEF dropped... But talking wasn't good enough after that. The child gripped the locket they had found, their hold on the dull knife they had equipped tightening as they dodged Asgore's attacks, wincing as a fireball brushed their arm. With the next turn, the human attacked, swiping the knife through the air.

***-30 HP; ?/?**

The fight lasted for what felt like hours, Frisk dodging fire and swipes of the trident. They were forced to munch on the Crab Apples in their inventory as they lay hit after hit on the King of Monsters until...

One last blow from Frisk's dull knife sent Asgore down to one knee, pain in his eyes. "Ah..."

Frisk straightened, breathing heavily with their sweatshirt slightly singed.

"So... That is how it is..." Asgore murmured, making Frisk gulp. "I remember the day after my son died... " The King began, describing a story of a lost Prince and a lost Queen, one robbed of life by humans and the other vanishing into thin air after a dispute in a fit of anger. "I do not want power... I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope... But... I cannot take this any longer. I just want to see my wife... I just want to see my child. Please... Young one..." Frisk straightened as Asgore looked up from the ground, gazing at them. "This war has gone on ling enough. You have the power... Take my Soul, and leave this cursed place."

Frisk's eyes widened as their options came up, the MERCY button having been painstakingly repaired by Chara. Frisk smiled a little, then reached over and hit the button.

_MERCY._

Asgore was silent a moment, mulling over their answer. "After everything I have done to hurt you... You would rather stay down here and stuffer... Than live happily on the surface?" A small smile crossed Asgore's face, a small chuckle ringing out in the silent cavern. "Human... I promise you... For as long as you remain here... My wife and I will take care of you as best we can. We can sit in the living room, telling stories... Eating butterscotch pie... We could be like... Like a family..."

Frisk perked up at the thought, not noticing as Chara dropped their gaze, half-hugging themself with one arm.

The happy moment, if it could be considered one, was quickly ruined as little white bullets surrounded the weakened King, startling the Human and Monster as they stuck what would be considered Asgore's heart.

"N-No!" Frisk shouted as the King crumbled into dust in front of them, Chara's echo of "Dad!" sounding behind them.

One bullet remained as a white, upside down soul began to glow from where the King had last been kneeling, shooting out and stiking it. The bullet caused the Soul to shatter... And King Asgore was no more.

Flowey popped up from behind where the King had kneeled, a wide grin on his face. "You IDIOT. You haven't learned a thing. In this world..."

Frisk stumbled a few steps back as vines curled around the Soul canisters, crushing them and drawing the Souls closer to the Flower.

"It's KILL or BE killed!"

"No!" Frisk reached out a hand toward Flowey, losing their knife in the process. What happened next occurred in almost a blink of an eye. Black tendrils reaches out from... Somewhere and grabbed the human Souls, tugging them out of reach from Flowey.

"What? No!" Flowey shrieked as the Souls were pulled away and vanished. The flower turned his attention to Frisk. "YOU...!" Vines went straight for Frisk's Soul, missing their target as the black tendrils wrapped around the human's arm, dragging them back. The last thing Frisk saw was a very angry Flowey before the world around them went black.


End file.
